A Shared Existence
by micman60
Summary: Shinji Ikari, at 21 years old, is engaged to and deeply in love with Rei Ayanami. This is the story of their life. Fluffy AU.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: First of all, I'm sorry if the formatting or anything is off, Fanfiction-dot-Net's text thing is really picky about separating sections of text. You try to break a story up with a line of dashes, it gets eaten up and you get a solid wall of text. I compromised with the horizontal lines, and I hope that's alright.**

**This is just some cute fluff I wrote about Shinji and Rei. It's set in an AU just so they can be happy - Rei's just a normal girl, Shinji's a more well-adjusted guy who's repairing his relationship with his dad, and they're both 21 and working. I hope you like it.**

**Obligatory Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, nor the original medium. If I did, I'd have butchered everything with my slapshot writing.**

* * *

Shinji woke up to the smell of roasted coffee beans, which was permeating every inch of the modest apartment he lived in. Slowly, with aching legs, he got out of bed and picked up a cleanish pair of pants off his bedroom floor. He smiled - his time living with Misato as an adolescent had influenced his habits more than he'd like to admit.

He checked the time – 7.50. Satisfied with his timing, he took a quick trip to the bathroom before shuffling out to the kitchen. The TV was on, playing one of the numerous morning news shows that aired in Tokyo-3. He glanced over at the kitchen, and saw a pot of coffee waiting for him.

After pouring himself a cup, Shinji began his day. He showered and picked out some appropriate, clean clothes to wear, and threw his dirty laundry in the hamper (along with some articles of clothing from his bedroom floor). He then shaved the wayward stubble from his face, and combed his short chestnut-brown hair.

Today was his day off, but that just meant that he could take care of things at home. His job at NERV, an official government office which dealt with taxes and finances, was unyielding and tiring, and the state of his apartment suffered due to this. He barely had time to breathe between his shifts.

The one thing that made his job worth doing was his co-worker, partner and soon-to-be wife - Rei Ayanami.

Shinji had moved to Tokyo-3 when he was 14, due to a sudden change of heart by his father. Having left him with his mother's family almost a decade earlier, his relocation to Tokyo-3 to manage NERV had prompted him to reconnect with his son. The move caused more harm than good, but it left Shinji in the company of people who cared for him in Gendo's absence.

One of those people was Rei Ayanami. She was in his class in school, and her ice-cool demeanor and voice caught Shinji's heart instantly. He talked to her between lunch breaks, and they had a great deal in common. Rei didn't like the contact initially, but her feelings for Shinji grew, and they became good friends.

7 years later, full of their own ups and downs, and they were living together under the same roof, sharing their existence with each other. From a rough childhood to this - Shinji thanked his lucky stars every day for allowing him such happiness.

He took the last sip of his coffee. Sighing with disappointment, he stood up from his seat in front of the TV and went to put his cup in the sink.

* * *

"Oh, you're out here, Rei."

Rei looked up from the small paperback novel she was reading, to see Shinji coming out onto the balcony with her. The morning sun was climbing ever higher, and the warmth felt nice on her pale skin.

"Good morning, Shinji. Is your morning going pleasantly?"

"It is, but it's been missing something important." He strolled over and placed a kiss on her cheek, to which Rei playfully swatted at him.

"You spend too much time speaking with Mr. Kaji."

He laughed and sat in a chair next to her. The table between them held a mug decorated with a floral pattern, blue flowers on a peach background.

He looked over towards Rei. She was wearing a long, deep blue sundress and a wide-brimmed hat. Her light blue hair danced along the side of her face with the breeze, and the sunlight twinkled off her blood-red eyes as she scanned each line of her book.

"I love seeing you in the morning sun."

She looked up from her novel, confused but pleasantly surprised with Shinji's sudden statement.

"Where did that come from?"

"I don't know." Shinji looked into her eyes. "I just think that you look so peaceful like this, and I love seeing you at peace."

Rei hid her face behind her novel. "I wasn't joking about Mr. Kaji, you know."

Shinji blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "I know it's cheesy, but that's how I feel."

Rei took a sip of her coffee, and then resumed reading her novel.

"Sweet-talker."

Shinji sighed and settled into his chair, taking the view in. The apartment complex they lived in was on the outer skirts of Tokyo-3, so the air was fresh and clean. The city loomed in the distance, made up of monoliths of steel and glass, providing a breathtaking view from their balcony.

"Oh, I just remembered something." Shinji interrupted the silence again, and Rei put her novel down. Nodding to show that she was paying attention, Shinji spoke.

"I was talking to Misato the other day, and she and Kaji want to go out to dinner some time."

Rei took her coffee and sat back. "That would be nice."

The pair relaxed for a few moments, caught up in a comfortable silence. Taking a small sip of her coffee, Rei spoke up.

"I never thought Ms. Katsuragi would settle down, let alone with Mr. Kaji. They make a lovely pair."

"Yeah, I get what you mean." Shinji smiled – Misato had never been much of a relationship person when he was growing up.

For a moment, both Shinji and Rei sat back and basked in the warm morning sunlight. Finding himself getting drowsy, Shinji sat up for a moment and collected his thoughts.

"...Y'know, you can call her Misato if you like."

Sitting up as well, Rei drained the last of her coffee.

"You've told me before. I just don't feel comfortable saying her first name."

Shinji frowned. "I know, sorry. It's just that she's family to me, and soon she will be to you too – it wouldn't be a problem if you did."

"…Maybe in time." Stretching out, Rei got up to put her mug in the sink. Shinji followed her inside.

The morning news had ended, and a lifestyle show had come on in its place. Shinji sat down on the sofa to watch, and Rei sat in a chair besides him to continue reading.

* * *

After around half an hour and a piece of fruit for breakfast, Shinji yawned and stretched out onto the sofa. The coffee was beginning to wear off, and he was getting drowsy. He's just put his feet up and rested his head on the armrest, when he felt something soft but firm bop him on the side of the head.

"Don't go back to sleep, we're meant to be cleaning today." Rei held her novel in her hand, having just used it to hit Shinji. Her voice was gentle but firm.

"It's charging my batteries for later, that's not a waste!" Shinji groaned as he rolled over. Rei tapped him with the book again, to which he just stretched out more. She sighed.

"We should start as soon as possible. We're not used to the apartment being this bad – who knows how long it could take to clean it all?"

With a great degree of hesitation, Shinji moved back into a sitting position. As inviting as a nap was at that moment, she was right. They were busy all the time, and used clothing and garbage had accumulated into piles all over their living space – it had built up to a level that neither of them had intended to reach.

"...Alright, give me a second."

Rei smiled. "You picked up some laziness from Ms. Katsuragi, it would seem."

Shinji sat up and arched his back.

"I can't argue with that – I was thinking the same thing this morning, to be honest."

Rei stepped towards him and kissed him.

"At least you're courteous about it."

As Shinji blushed, Rei went to get the garbage bags. Resuming his stretch, he felt something give way in his shoulder, and the resulting pop send a wave of relief down his body. Even though he was only 21, his joints were already beginning to pop when he stretched - he figured that it was due to the stressful nature of his job, or maybe from hunching over his desk all the time.

Shaking the oncoming flood of ideas out of his head, Shinji walked over to where Rei was rifling through drawers. Accordingly, he began looking in cupboards and such for things they'd need for their day's job. By the time they'd finished searching, they'd found gloves and an unopened pack of sponges as well as the garbage bags.

"I'll take the bedroom and the bathroom, if you like," Shinji offered. Rei agreed, and began picking up trash in the kitchen.

Shinji walked into the bedroom and looked around. There were clothes on the floor from both of them, cans of instant coffee, bottles, various wrappers and labels - the room was a mess. It was a comfortable mess, but it was a mess regardless.

He began with the clothes. Though they'd been spending the last 3 years together, Shinji still felt a flush of embarrassment whenever he handled his better half's clothes, dirty or clean. He gathered her clothes into a small pile, then went to work piling up his own share.

Once he'd done that, he began on the trash. It was all just filth, but looking at all the empty coffee cans took Shinji back to the warm nights he'd spent with Rei, lying in bed and listening to the radio. It was often too hot to sleep, especially when they began sharing a bed, so they'd stay up for as long as possible lying in each other's arms, trailing kisses down each other's faces and arms.

He picked up the trash while reminiscing on those simple nights, and before he realized it, he'd cleaned the majority of the waste.

He tied a pair of garbage bags up and sat them in the corner, and carried the clothes piles into the bathroom to put them in the hamper. After that, he picked up the bags of trash and brought them out with him to the living room.

Rei was out on the balcony, shaking dust and debris off of the small rug under their coffee table. The table itself was moved off to the side, leaving a wide empty space in front of the TV. The kitchen was a bit better than before, with most of the clutter gone, but the hotplates on the stove still needed cleaning.

_I'll do that when I get the chance_, Shinji thought.

He left the bags of trash near the kitchen bench, and went out to see Rei. She'd been working hard, and was covered in dust and sweat. She'd hung the rug over the railing and was hitting it with a broom. Shinji walked up next to her.

"Hey, do you want anything to drink or something?"

"I've only been out here for a few minutes, I'm fine." Rei continued hitting the rug, not looking away.

"You just look tired, that's all."

"Thank you, but I might wait until after this is done. You can rest for a while if you like."

Shinji stood there for a moment, looking out as the midday sun beat down on them. Rei spoke up suddenly;

"Actually, shouldn't you be cleaning the bathroom?"

"Yeah, I probably should." Shinji straightened his back as he stretched. "I wanted to see if there was any garbage to take down to the curb."

"There are some bags behind the counter," Rei stopped hitting the rug as she spoke, "but one of them is only half-full. If you could fill it some more, that would be nice."

Shinji nodded and went back inside, as Rei took the rug and turned it around, hitting the other side. He spotted the bag she was talking about, and looked through their fridge for anything that needed to be thrown away. The bag was soon much fuller than before, and Shinji tied it up for transportation, taking it downstairs with the other bags.

* * *

When he got back, Rei was behind the kitchen counter. She'd poured 2 tall glasses of juice.

"Here, let's have a break."

Shinji nodded, picking up one of the glasses. Rei picked hers up and went over to the sofa, putting her drink on the coffee table - still displaced from earlier, but within arm's length.

"Hold on a second, Rei," Shinji said as he walked over, "I'll get that."

After Rei took both glasses, Shinji lifted the table up and put it back into place. Rei sat their drinks down in front of them.

"My hero."

Though she was joking around, her voice carried a pleasant warmness as she said it. Tired and glad for the break, Shinji sat down next to Rei and took a generous sip of his juice.

They sat in silence for a while, enjoying the refreshment of their drinks, before Shinji gently laid his head on Rei's shoulder. She shifted slightly to make them both more comfortable, and rested her head against Shinji's.

"I still can't believe you agreed to marry me," Shinji whispered out of the blue.

She looked down at him. "You've been making me happy since the first day I met you. Why wouldn't I agree to marry you?"

"Well, I'm getting lazy now, and I can be indecisive, and I'm kind of a wimp... Really, I'm a flake."

"You are not a flake." Rei interrupted him with a small, sharp poke to his side, making him twitch. "You have negative things about yourself, but you're reliable and pleasant to be with. There's no reason why I wouldn't marry you."

Direct and honest as always - another reason Shinji loved her. He wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Thank you, Rei - for agreeing to marry me and for loving me."

"You don't have to thank me for loving you, you goof – I enjoy it. And you love me back, which is all that matters."

Shinji's heart swelled with affection at Rei's words. He gently nuzzled the side of her neck, and whispered into her shoulder.

"I do love you, forever and always."

Rei lent down and placed a gentle peck on Shinji's forehead, and relaxed even more in his embrace. In less than half an hour, they were both asleep.

* * *

Rei woke up 3 hours later, the afternoon sun projecting a lazy, humid heat into their apartment. They'd cleaned about half of the apartment up, and though she felt that it would have been better to clean the rest that day, she was content with the work they had done.

She looked down at Shinji. His face was peaceful, like he was dreaming of everything he'd ever wanted. Being careful not to shift so much, she kissed him on the cheek.

"Goodnight Shinji. I hope you're having pleasant dreams."

She laid her head back down, and went back to sleep. Shinji's grip tightened slightly around her.

Behind his eyelids, in his unconscious mind, he was floating through an empty void. Rei's gentle voice danced through his head, echoing off the walls and enveloping Shinji's self in a warm glow.

His consciousness traveled through the void, following the quiet whispers of her voice, until he found a small, glowing, snow-white nucleus. He held it in his hands, and the light from it grew out and swirled around his body. It began to take on substance, and before he had realized it, Rei had appeared out of the light and embraced him from behind.

"Thank goodness you're here, Rei." he whispered, his heart growing warm with his love for her. "I would have been lost without you."

And they floated in the void, together.

_Last Edited 23/01/2015_


	2. Chapter 2

_I hope you enjoy this chapter. The AN is at the bottom due to length._

* * *

As stressful as his job was at NERV, Shinji felt comfortable doing it. It was taxing on his health, but it always provided a healthy challenge and it felt good to work with his peers. He enjoyed his work a great deal.

So when he woke up after his day off, he was somewhat happy to go back. It's not that he disliked being at home, but working was a part of his life which, at that point, felt inseparable from the rest of his life.

It helped that he never went a day without seeing his partner, either. Rei also enjoyed her work, and the four years she'd been working at NERV with Shinji had helped her come out of her shell and meet new people. To them both, NERV was a place to prove one's worth and to enjoy meaningful social interaction.

Looking at her under their blanket, Shinji's heart leapt just a tiny bit. He remembered the previous day, how they'd napped together for hours, and how he dreamed of her. He'd woken up hours later in the stifling heat of the late afternoon, and he and Rei had an early dinner. Deciding to leave the rest of the housework for the next few days, they'd gone to bed early and slept just as soundly as they had been on the couch.

He took great care in not rousing Rei from her sleep as he got out of bed, and he gently walked out to the kitchen to check the time.

5:47.

Their alarms would go off at 7 am, so he had just over an hour to prepare breakfast before she woke up.

* * *

Rei woke up in a haze, slightly dehydrated and with a sore neck. She sat up and moved her head around, until she felt a small pop. Satisfied, she looked over at her alarm clock - it was 6:34.

She looked over at the other side of their bed, to find empty space.

_He must have already gotten up_, she figured.

Blurry-eyed and thirsty, she got out of bed to get a drink. She walked out into the living room, and saw Shinji in the kitchen, cooking something. From the smell, she'd guess that he was making an omelette.

Shinji didn't see her walk out, being too wrapped up in cooking the omelette to perfection. He turned around to get some spring onion, and stopped cold as he noticed Rei standing near the doorway to their room. She was wearing a large sweat-shirt - comfortable and warm, but with enough room to allow the cold air in.

Shinji himself was a sight, wearing loose, blue boxer shorts and a white shirt, holding a spatula and reaching for the fridge. Suddenly self-conscious, he grabbed what he needed with an urgent speed and went back to the frying pan. He couldn't help but feel a bit lecherous at seeing Rei in her bed-clothes, and a bit embarrassed at being seen in his.

She walked over to the kitchen, each step making Shinji increasingly nervous. He grabbed the onions and took his time cutting them up as Rei took a seat on the other side of the counter.

Her gentle voice suddenly spoke up:

"The omelette's browning."

Shinji had been too pre-occupied with cutting the onions that he needed, and had neglected to move the omelette in a while. He quickly turned it over - to find a regular, fluffy yellow. Rei giggled.

"You're in a mischievous mood this morning." Shinji turned to the chopping board and began cutting ingredients and toppings for their breakfast.

"I feel nice." Rei smiled as she poured some juice from a pitcher on their counter. She looked at the ingredients Shinji had cut up, and spied a plate of sausages he'd charred on the grill.

"How long have you been awake?"

Shinji looked over at the frying pan before answering. "I woke up around quarter to 6, and I didn't want to disturb you. You worked harder than I did yesterday, and I thought you deserved some more rest."

"We worked equally as hard, though. You don't have to be modest."

Looking back on the previous day, Shinji felt that Rei had still done more than him. Shinji may had taken the trash downstairs as well as cleaned up their room, but Rei had picked up a lot of that trash and cleaned the living room and rug.

Regardless, he didn't want to start an argument over his wording.

"I guess so, sorry." Shinji turned away and continued his work on breakfast, flipping the omelette again and neatly cutting it into quarters with the spatula.

Lifting the pan over the kitchen bench, Shinji began to slide the individual omelettes onto a clean, white plate. He'd just finished when he felt a tug on the back of his shirt. Turning around, he saw that Rei had snuck up behind him and was rising up on her toes.

Before he had time to realize what was happening, she tenderly kissed him on the lips.

Shinji fumbled with the frying pan, half-dropping it back on top of the stove, but Rei continued for a moment more before moving away.

"Thank you for letting me sleep," she whispered as she lowered herself down. Before she left though, Shinji wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her neck.

He'd aimed for her cheek, but her kiss had clouded his mind and he lost his balance on the way down to kiss her. Rei's response was to gasp, and she shuddered slightly at the contact.

They looked into each other's eyes, and the kitchen seemed to melt away. The feelings behind their kisses translated into what felt like electricity between them.

Rei wrapped her arms around Shinji's neck and kissed him roughly, and Shinji welcomed her. They stood there by the bench, locked at the mouth for what felt like forever, one of them occasionally breaking contact to go for the other's throat or shoulder which led to a wilder response each time.

They were on the verge of going back to bed when Rei pulled away, red in the face and panting.

"What's wrong, Rei?"

Slightly embarrassed, Rei looked down.

"…I'd like to have breakfast before it gets cold."

Though he was disappointed, Shinji's stomach soon growled and he realized that he felt the same.

Rei took her seat behind the kitchen counter, and Shinji began plating up their food.

"Maybe we can finish this after breakfast?" Shinji said in an attempted sly tone of voice, throwing in a sleazy wink. Despite the ridiculous sight, Rei smiled slyly and leant over the counter to kiss Shinji...

…Only for their alarms to go off from their bedroom, signifying the beginning of their morning routine.

* * *

After breakfast, the pair got cleaned up and ready for work. They contemplated sharing their shower time, but decided they didn't want to risk using too much time and being late. Shinji used Rei's time in the shower to make more omelettes, and when she got out he had a pair of boxed lunches ready.

Rei drove them both to work each morning, mostly to save fuel - but also because between herself and Shinji, she was the better driver. Shinji didn't seem to mind - he felt safe with Rei behind the wheel, more so than when he was. She could get to work on time easily, but when she could, she'd drive at a slower pace so they could take in the scenery – As much as they enjoyed work, they enjoyed free time with each other more.

Eventually though, they had to arrive at work. Once they had parked in the company carpark, they briefly kissed one last time before entering the workplace.

They took an elevator to their floor, and upon reaching their destination they were greeted by an older man wearing thick-rimmed glasses. His hair was beginning to show white streaks, and his goatee had streaks of sliver as well.

"Shinji, Rei. I trust your rest day was productive?"

"Yes, sir," Shinji bowed slightly and shook the older man's hand. "Thank you for allowing us the day off. We used our time very well, and appreciate your generosity."

Rei bowed also, and Gendo smiled at the both of them.

"There's no need for the formalities yet, the work day hasn't begun. I'm glad you appreciated the break." He took Rei's hand for a moment, and bowed.

"Thank you si- erm, Dad." Shinji still had trouble addressing his father in parental terms, but he was glad that the option was open. The old man was getting softer with age, and both Shinji and Gendo were beginning to make amends for the past.

The older man smiled. "I hope you both work well today. I have to go, but I'll see you both during the day."

Shinji and Rei bowed, and Gendo left. Both of them made their way to the logbook and wrote their arrival time in, and headed to their separate working areas.

* * *

Shinji's department worked with businesses, monitoring their earnings to determine how much tax they should be paying. Shinji monitored and occasionally entered data, and printed off physical records of his given businesses in case of power failure.

He was present in a team of 60 workers, taking care of businesses partially or wholly owned by the government. Of those 60, he knew 2 of them quite well and worked with them when he could.

The first person was someone he knew especially well - as a teenager, she raised him and helped teach him the skills to work at NERV. Her name was Misato Katsuragi.

The second was an old friend of both his father and Misato - and was currently romantically involved with the latter. His name was Ryoji Kaji, though he preferred to go by Kaji whenever possible.

Both of them were working on their respective sections when Shinji walked in, but as soon as they realized his presence they stopped what they were doing. Shinji quickly felt like prey being cornered by a pack of lions, as Misato and Kaji prepared their barrage of inappropriate questions and comments.

"Here he is, Mr Fiancé himself," Kaji began, "fresh from making "wedding plans" with his blushing bride."

Misato giggled as Shinji's face turned a deep crimson. "It looks like they were "planning" around this morning, judging by those marks on his neck."

Shinji's entire world felt like it was tumbling down. He'd spoken to his father this morning - the thought of being seen with such intimate marks made him want to scream.

He scrambled to find a mirror, and found one on Misato's desk. He searched his face and neck frantically, looking for the painless purple bruise which had ruined him.

No hickeys or love-marks whatsoever. They'd gotten him.

Kaji was laughing quietly, but Misato was a bit more vocal – to the point where other workers were looking over at the group. Shinji huffed and sat at his desk.

After he'd found where he had left off 2 days before, he began to work. It was 15 minutes later that Misato came over to him, to his annoyance. She seemed a bit more subdued, if not still a bit tickled.

"Sorry, but it was a really good guess."

"...I know." Shinji huffed. Misato ruffled his hair.

"You're starting to take the guff a bit better, that's good." She gave him a gently, friendly push, which Shinji didn't appreciate.

"It's nice to see you, but I have work to catch up on. Can you leave me alone until lunch hour?"

Misato sighed. "Ahh, you're so serious as always. Okay, I'll let you carry on."

She left, and Shinji continued working. For the rest of the morning period, there were no more interruptions.

* * *

"So you just cleaned your apartment? No other funny business?"

Rei shook her head, with the faintest smile on her face. Her co-worker frowned.

"You've got to be joking. If I had a day off, I'd at least treat myself a little."

"The time I spend with him is enough." Rei picked up a folder, and slid out a sheet of figures.

Rei worked in the salary office of NERV, and along with the small team of professionals who worked alongside her, managed the wages and salaries of NERV's employees.

"Blech, you guys are so lovey-dovey. I can barely stand it!" The mystery co-worker went back to her own work, scribbling figures down on several messily-arranged stacks of paper

"Perhaps... if you found a partner, Asuka," Rei gently spoke gently, as to not rile her up, "you would understand how I feel."

"I'm not a fan of dating, though," Asuka sighed, "and even if I was, I doubt I could meet anyone of my caliber."

Asuka's outlook on life always intrigued Rei. She was very unconventional in her views, outside the norm. Things had to go her way in life - and her way was often hard to follow. Her viewpoint of the world wasn't necessarily invalid, but it was at odds with Rei's - and the contrast made for interesting conversations.

"I hope you can find someone who completes you."

Rei's comment was a bit out of the blue, and rubbed Asuka the wrong way.

"Thank you for the concern," she hastily spat out sarcastically, "but I rely on myself to create my happiness. I don't need someone to swoop in and "complete" me."

"I'm sorry for offending you. Your choices are equally as valid as my own."

Asuka huffed, and both women went back to work. The 2 worked in silence, taking care of their individual projects.

A full 10 minutes before lunch began, Rei filed the last of her paperwork away and stood up. Asuka looked up at her in disbelief.

"Are you seriously done already? You've even done the work from yesterday?"

"I have," Rei confirmed, "and I've decided to do a vending machine run. Would you like anything?"

"Well, if you're offering, could you grab me a juicebox?" Asuka rooted through the top drawer of her desk, and handed Rei some crumpled notes and coins. "That should be enough."

Rei accepted the money, and turned towards the hall.

"Okay, I'll be back shortly."

As she reached the exit of the room, a voice spoke up from a few desks down.

"Wait a sec, did you say that you were doing a run?"

Rei turned to the source of the voice - a long-haired male in his early 30's, who was looking over at her. She nodded in confirmation.

"Here, could you grab me a can of coffee while you're there?" He got up and handed her a handful of coins.

"Of course, Mr. Aoba. I'll be back soon."

He thanked her, and she went on her way.

**AN: ****AN: First off, yes - this chapter does drop off at the end. That's because this chapter alone is around as long as the first, and the third chapter is**_**even longer**_**. I thought the first chapter was too long, and that I was just getting a feel for writing the story - now I'm stuck writing longer and longer chapters. I hope I don't fall into a cycle of writing longer chapters every time.**

**Secondly, Aoba's inclusion at the end is a bit of an ass-pull. Honestly, I think it's just fanservice - a little nod to his existence, showing what he's doing in this continuity. He doesn't really serve much plot relevance, but he'll probably pop up from time to time because I like him. I do plan to introduce a wider variety of characters as well, so stay tuned.**

**And lastly, tying into the above - next chapter introduces one of my favorite characters from the series. I'm really looking forward to it.**

**I'd appreciate any of your thoughts on this chapter and/or the story in general. Next chapter should be up in a few days. And please excuse the beefy Author's Note, I'll get better about it soon.**

_Edited 19/05/15_


	3. Chapter 3

_AN at the bottom - I might just make that a regular thing. Please enjoy the chapter_

* * *

Lunch hour came around soon, and Shinji went to one of the company's lunch rooms. It was a large room with a small self-operated kitchen, and a decent variety of vending machines. There were 3 separate lunch rooms at NERV due to the size of the staff, one with an actual cafeteria in it, but Shinji didn't use the others - he enjoyed cooking his own lunch, and it was cheaper to do so as well. Not many other people used this room either, so it was always nice and quiet.

He sat down with Kaji in tow, and they were soon joined by Rei and a reluctant Asuka.

"Here he is, the boring Mr. Shinji himself." Asuka sat down with her usual air of self-righteousness.

Shinji had known Asuka since he started school in Tokyo-3, and he'd even worked under her at NERV before. Though their friendship was strained and occasionally even forced, they were more often than not good-natured colleagues.

"That's me," he sighed as he poked at his food, "the idiot himself."

"You're still taking this morning pretty rough, aren't you kid?" Kaji leant back on his chair with a can of coffee in his hand. Shinji nodded slightly, and picked up a piece of omelette.

"What happened this morning?" Asuka asked curiously.

She'd unknowingly opened the floodgates.

"Well, me and Misato ganged up on him when he came in..."

Soon Kaji had told the story to an amused Asuka and a mortified Rei, the latter blushing and looking down at her lunch before the story was over.

Asuka threw an arm over Rei's shoulder. "I guess your day off wasn't so boring after all!"

"Please stop speaking about it. It's uncomfortable." Rei picked up some of her food.

Misato came over from the vending machines, arms laden with various treats. Barely any of it could be considered a part of a solid meal, but by her own admission, "Sure as hell beats eating my own cooking".

Sitting next to Kaji, she took one look at Asuka and Rei before groaning. "Come on, you already told them? You should have waited for me!"

"Can we please just forget about it...?" Shinji poked at his food uncomfortably as the table discussed the event at length.

After a few minutes, everyone had stopped talking about it in favor of focusing on their food. Misato was digging into her third yakisoba bread, and Kaji was eating his homemade boxed lunch. Asuka was eating some sort of sandwich and drinking the box of juice she'd gotten earlier.

"Oh, while we're all together," Kaji drew the table's attention, "did you tell Rei about the dinner plans, Shinji?"

"I did, but I thought we hadn't decided on when to go," he answered.

"We were thinking maybe this coming Saturday." Kaji paused to sip his coffee. "We're all working half-shifts that day, right? Seems like the best time to go."

Shinji looked over towards Rei. She looked up at Kaji, and nodded.

"That works."

Kaji beamed. "Alright, that's great! It gives us the better half of a week to plan everything out."

"You'd better start bracing yourself, kids," Misato chimed in, "because when you're out with us, the night doesn't end until one of us is injured or sick!"

Shinji and Rei thought back to when Misato came into work after a night out, nursing a broken ankle. She'd insisted that it was due to a negligent driver hitting her on her way home, but Kaji later told them that she'd picked a fight with a passing cyclist and gotten her ankle wrapped up in one of the bike's wheels. The thought of drinking with her made them both uneasy.

Asuka sat on the side, growing more irritated with each passing second.

"What, and you're leaving me out? I'm sitting right here, you know!"

Kaji attempted to strike a cool pose, holding his can by the rim and winking at her.

"Sorry Asuka, but this is a double date - four's company, but five's a crowd."

Misato reached up and hit Kaji over the back of the head.

"Idiot."

Asuka stuck her nose up. "Well then, I can see where I'm not wanted!"

Before anyone could stop her, she took her things and left their table.

"...I guess it was rude of us to make plans right in front of her." Shinji went back to picking at his food.

Kaji nodded in agreement. "Fair enough, but we don't get a lot of time to talk with Rei as well as yourself."

"Yeah." Still feeling unsatisfied with the turn of events, Shinji finished the last of his lunch. He wrapped the tin container up in the handkerchief he'd brought with him, and placed the bundle in front of him.

* * *

As the group finished their respective meals, the lunch bell went off. They got up, heading over to dispose of their waste and such, when Shinji was stopped by an old, leathery hand being placed on his shoulder.

He turned around to see a much older man - a man he recognized well. His features were just as distinguished as they had been when he was a teenager, but age had reduced his stature slightly. He hunched over now, and walked with a cane. He was formerly the second-in-command to Gendo Ikari, and the best worker NERV had ever seen.

"Mr. Fuyutsuki, hello!" Shinji bowed and shook the older man's hand.

"Hello Shinji, I see you've been well." The old man was cheerful in his tone.

The others turned around to see where Shinji had gone off to, and saw Fuyutsuki as well. Before he knew it, Fuyutsuki had a captive audience of Misato and Kaji.

"Mr. Fuyutsuki, sir!"

"It's nice to see you in good health, sir!"

Fuyutsuki waved them down. "Relax, I'm not here on any sort of business. I just wanted to see Shinji and Rei. Please don't bother with the formalities."

"Okay, sir." Kaji re-assumed his usual, laid-back posture. Fuyutsuki turned back towards Shinji, and towards Rei, who'd joined them in the commotion.

"Could I have a quiet word with you both for a moment? It's nothing serious, just a small chat."

Shinji looked at the clock. "I'd enjoy that, but lunch has just finished. We have to go clock back in."

The old man smiled. "Oh come now, a couple of minutes are nothing. I'll tell Gendo that I kept you both."

Rei nodded and extended her hand to shake. "We'd love to, sir."

"Excellent, I won't keep you long." Fuyutsuki began guiding them over towards the other side of the room, but not before looking back towards Misato and Kaji.

"Get back to work, you slackers!" he yelled out jokingly.

"Coming from Mr. Retiree, that's rich!" Kaji yelled back. Regardless, he and Misato left the room.

When they'd left, Fuyutsuki moved a chair from a nearby table and sat. Shinji and Rei did the same.

"I heard from Gendo that you've decided to get married."

Shinji and Rei nodded, and Fuyutsuki beamed. "That's wonderful news! I'm happy for you both."

"Thank you, sir. It's not a decision we take lightly, we love each other very much." Still surprised by the older man's visit, Shinji was visibly tense – and his voice did little to suggest otherwise.

Seeing the tension on Shinji's face, Fuyutsuki patted his shoulder.

"Relax, Shinji. I wouldn't have assumed anything else."

"Sorry, sir." Shinji looked down.

The older man cleared his throat slightly. "I came in today to congratulate you both, and also because I want to consider giving you both a wedding present."

"Sir... that's very kind of you." Rei was slightly taken aback at the proposition. Neither she nor Shinji actually knew Fuyutsuki all that well, knowing him from their first few years of work. For him to give either of them a wedding present was unexpected.

He must have seen the apprehension on their faces, because he put his hand up in front of him.

"At least hear my proposition before turning it down." His tone was gentle, but firm - Both of them had seen the way he worked, and it sounded like he wouldn't stop even if they asked him to. There was no point to resisting.

Seeing them relax, Fuyutsuki continued. "To begin with, I want to give you some money to put towards a home for you both."

Shinji went to protest, but Fuyutsuki rose his hand.

"Wait."

Shinji receded back into his seat, and Fuyutsuki continued.

"Secondly, I have a summer home in Hawaii, right on the beach. There's nowhere around for miles, except a beautiful, small village with all the necessities you'd need. I want to offer it to you as a honeymoon location."

The couple looked at each other, and whispered a few words while Fuyutsuki waited. After a long moment, Rei spoke up.

"Your offer is very generous, sir, but... we're not sure if we'd like to accept such a lavish gift."

He smiled.

"I understand that this is unexpected, and this gift can be seen as confronting. It's fine if you don't want to accept it, but I want you both to think about it for a few days."

After a moment of quiet deliberation, both agreed to Fuyutsuki's conditions. They shook hands, and bowed.

"Thank you for your offer, sir. We'll decide in the next few days."

"That would be nice." Fuyutsuki began to walk away, but stopped suddenly and turned back around.

"...Hey, it's been nice seeing you both again."

"You too, sir." Shinji and Rei bowed again, and Fuyutsuki waved.

* * *

"So, what did he want?"

Sure enough, once Shinji got back to his work area, his 2 friends had descended upon him like a swarm of flies.

"...He wanted to give us a wedding present." There was no point in lying to them over something so trivial.

Kaji seemed surprised by his answer. "That's pretty nice of him. I don't think I've ever seen him give much to anybody."

"Yeah, I thought so too." Shinji looked down. "I don't feel comfortable accepting his gift."

"What did he offer you?" Misato had sat backwards on her chair, and was idly spinning around on it.

"...Well, he offered us money to buy a home with."

Both Kaji and Misato looked at Shinji in surprise. Slightly unsettled, Shinji continued.

"And then he offered us his summer house in Hawaii for our honeymoon."

"You're kidding!" Kaji talked a bit louder than he'd intended, and other people around them looked towards him. He lowered his voice.

"I don't think I've ever seen the old man being this generous, but I know for a fact he's loaded. His gift isn't going to put a dent in his pocket, so I think you should just take him up on it."

"I don't feel comfortable taking his money, though." Shinji cleaned up some papers to keep his hands occupied. "It's too much, especially from Mr. Fuyutsuki."

Misato had walked over to join the conversation.

"I wonder if he'd give us a gift if we got married..."

Kaji seemed amused. "You're joking, right? That would be like caging a mongoose and a cobra together."

"I dunno," Shinji interjected, "you both seem like the perfect match for each other."

"Jeez, you too?"

Confused, Shinji nodded. Kaji looked away.

"Sorry to break it to you both, but I'm really not the marrying type."

Seeing that he'd struck a nerve, Shinji went back to his paperwork. Kaji and Misato went back to their own devices, and they worked until the end of the day.

Meanwhile, Rei had spoken to Asuka about Fuyutsuki's offer, and the fiery redhead's temper had flared to new heights.

"What?! He'll give you guys money for getting married? He used to be such a penny-pincher, this is ridiculous!"

"I assume he's grown softer with age." Rei handled paperwork as it came to her, often having time to talk. Asuka was beginning to fall behind.

"Maybe he retired because he was losing his touch. He might be forgetting the skills which made him so rich."

"I don't think so," Rei began as she began organizing her desk, "he wouldn't be offering us anything if he couldn't afford it."

Asuka smirked. "So, it sounds like you're gonna take him up on his offer."

"We haven't decided yet." Rei didn't appreciate her co-worker's tone. "Me and Shinji are going to discuss it first. It is a decadent offer, and I'm not sure how to feel about it."

"Honestly, you should just take it." Asuka had begun focusing more on her work, having spied how far ahead of her Rei was getting. "I've been living here for nearly a decade, and I still don't get the big deal about accepting gifts."

"If someone offered you a large gift, wouldn't you feel indebted to them?" Rei asked her.

Asuka thought about it.

"Well, when you put it that way... yeah, for a while. But if they want to give you such a nice gift and expect you to use it, then it'd be a lost opportunity not to take it - especially if it could help you out."

Rei smiled. It was always pleasant to get a new outlook on a situation, and Asuka was always good for a second opinion.

* * *

At the end of the day, Shinji still had some work to complete - nothing he couldn't do the next day, but an amount he could have done without so many distractions. Fuyutsuki's offer was on the forefront of his mind as he headed for the logbook.

As he signed, he felt someone move up behind him.

"Shinji, I noticed you were a bit behind today."

The voice struck Shinji like a speeding car - it was Gendo.

"Y-yes, sir - there is no excuse. I'm sorry, and I will work harder tomorrow to make up the difference."

"It's okay." Gendo laid a hand on Shinji's shoulder. "I know about Fuyutsuki's offer, and I can only imagine that it was on your mind for most of the day."

Shinji felt relieved. He felt bad enough about the day, and being forgiven for falling short was a luxury he needed.

"Thank you for understanding, Mr. Ikari."

"It's fine, Shinji, really." Gendo waved off the thanks. "Just make up the difference tomorrow and there'll be no problem."

Shinji smiled, and shook Gendo's hand. Before he left though, Gendo muttered something to him in a low voice.

"Fuyutsuki's not the type of man to give gifts, so I imagine his offer means quite a lot to him. Just remember that."

And with those parting words, Gendo went back to his office.

Shinji went down and headed for the car, where Rei was waiting for him. He pecked her on the cheek before getting in, and soon they were on their way home. Rei drove slowly and evenly, and eventually she brought up the gift.

"...The offer he's given us is a very useful opportunity."

Shinji sighed as he looked out the window. The trees outside were painted a rusty brown by the setting sun.

"I know... It's just such a big thing, especially coming from him."

"I feel uncomfortable about taking his money and hospitality," Rei began as they approached an intersection, "but it seemed like an important decision to him."

"Yeah, my father said as much on the way out." Shinji's attention was drawn to the road ahead, as they turned towards their neighborhood.

They coasted along a long road for a few minutes, sitting in uncomfortable silence. Both were trying to phrase their thoughts in a way that wouldn't hurt the other if they disagreed.

Rei spoke up first.

"...Everyone seems to think we should take it. It's like we don't even have a say in the matter."

Shinji smiled. "Yeah, I understand what you mean."

They were silent for a few more minutes. They were soon within viewing distance of their apartment building. Unconsciously, Rei slowed the car down as the pair tried to make the next move.

"I think we should accept the offer." Shinji broke the silence first. Rei struggled to find the right words, but she eventually replied.

"…It really would help us out greatly. It could even help us start a family, when we're ready."

They'd discussed starting a family before, but it had never come up in casual conversation before. For a split second, Shinji felt like his heart was going to burst.

"...Yeah. We could start a family with that money." Shinji began to beam as he imagined himself and Rei with a family.

Rei pulled into the car-park outside their apartment building, and looked over towards Shinji.

"It looks like we're accepting his gift, then."

"Yeah." Shinji hadn't stopped grinning yet. There was nothing at that moment which could have made him happier than the thought of raising a family with his wife. Rei smirked at her daydreaming goof of a fiancé.

"We'll have to make him the guest of honor when we decide on a date, then." Rei stepped out of the car, and Shinji followed.

"Absolutely. I might even make him my best man."

Rei smiled at the suggestion. "I can only imagine the bachelor party he'd throw you, with nearly 70 years of life experience under his belt."

An image of Mr. Fuyutsuki becoming a wild playboy entered Shinji's head, and he laughed.

As they headed up the stairs to their apartment, Shinji stopped for a moment.

"Hey, wait a second, Rei."

She stopped and turned towards him, and he softly embraced her.

"I can't wait to start a family with you. I couldn't imagine a future any better than a future spent with you."

Rei melted into his embrace, and felt the warmth of his face brushing against hers. She whispered quietly into his shoulder.

"I wouldn't want any other future than that."

Shinji softly pecked her on the lips, and Rei kissed him back. They stood there in each other's arms, until the rays of the setting sun began to subside.

**AN: Fuyutsuki is one of my favorite characters, and I wanted to include him early in the story. Working with Gendo is a given, and being older than Gendo opened the door to him being a retiree by the time the story takes place. Looking back on this chapter, I'm pretty happy with his appearance in it.**

**Next chapter: Shinji and Rei get out of the office, and in between the sheets~~. Well, not for long, but they still do.**

_Edited 19/05/2015_


	4. Chapter 4

_This chapter pushes a hard T due to a clear but non-descriptive mention of sex. AN is at the bottom._

* * *

The pair lay in bed, exhausted but content. Wrapped in each other's arms, Shinji ran his fingers through Rei's hair as she rested her head against his chest. She'd occasionally run a finger up his side, just to hear his heart flutter – both of them completely satisfied in each other's company.

Once they'd gotten in the door, Shinji and Rei had picked up where they'd left off that morning – roughly feeling each other up and kissing forcefully. It wasn't too long until they took everything to the bedroom. Late afternoon soon turned into humid night, the heavy air enveloping the pair in a persistent, lazy heat.

Wrapped in each other's arms, gently falling asleep in the humid night air – for them both, the situation felt like paradise.

* * *

June 14, 2015.

Shinji Ikari stepped off the train into a new world.

A shy, sheltered 14 year old boy, Shinji had travelled a great distance from his home of 11 years to meet with his father – Gendo Ikari. He was a man who Shinji disliked a great deal, but who he'd followed to Tokyo-3 regardless, miles and miles away from where he lived.

The pair had been more or less separated for the last decade - several attempts to make contact had been made over the years, but they were very sporadic and indifferent. Gendo had begun calling his son occasionally around the time that he turned 5, and he even visited once when he was 7. The last time they'd talked was over the phone, when Shinji was 12.

Gendo's attempts to connect with his son rarely worked - Shinji knew that other children his age lived with their parents, and he harbored a deep resentment of his father for his absence. Gendo had never told Shinji why he was absent, and he would only discuss subjects that were topical when they did talk.

Despite his mixed feelings regarding his upbringing, Shinji couldn't say that he disliked living with his aunt and uncle. They were very kind, and he never went without necessities or love – it was just that he couldn't help but feel that his life was lacking something. He had no mother, and his father seemed like he wanted nothing to do with him - combined with a lack of friends from an early age, the boy grew up feeling extremely lonely.

Although he felt strongly about his father, he couldn't say that he wasn't happy when Gendo had summoned him to Tokyo-3. He hoped that they could connect more as father and son, that they could have some things in common - and he hoped most of all that the loneliness bred by his absence would be filled, and that he'd know what it was like to have a family.

Things never had a knack for turning out in Shinji's life, though.

It was 5 PM when he arrived in Tokyo-3, and the sun had begun to set. Expecting to see his father, he was instead greeted at the station by a professional-looking woman in a red jacket and plum-colored dress. Her hair was dyed a dark shade of purple, and she wore light, professional traces of make-up. Her smile looked warm from a glance, but upon closer inspection it looked fake.

"Shinji Ikari?"

He was surprised to hear the stranger say his name, but he responded with a nod. Her grin widening, she extended her hand for Shinji to shake. Confused, he shook it.

"Hi, I'm Misato! Your father sent me to pick you up."

"O-oh. Hello." He fumbled over his words, unprepared for the situation at hand. Misato frowned slightly at his reaction.

"Your dad didn't tell you? He ran into a ton of paperwork and had to stay behind at work. It was a sudden thing, so he sent me to pick you up."

"Oh, okay." He was visibly relieved.

"…What, didn't he let you know in advance or something?"

Shinji shook his head, smiling slightly. "I don't have a phone, so he couldn't have reached me. This is all kind of a shock."

Seeing him warm up a bit, Misato began running him through the situation as she walked him to her car.

"Your dad told me to take you to his place, so you can wait there in comfort. He said he'd be done by 8, and you're free to help yourself to whatever you like when you arrive - drinks, food, whatever."

Loading his meagre 1 bag of luggage into the back as she talked, Shinji nodded to show that he understood. As he climbed into the passenger seat, Misato put on her cheeriest voice - eager to have some fun.

"Can you talk at all, or do you just nod all the time?"

Her words came out much harsher than she'd intended, and Shinji flinched. He lowered his gaze to the floor.

"...Sorry."

Upon seeing his reaction, a wave of disappointment washed over Misato.

_Well, that went over well. The kid probably hates me now._

Giving a short sigh, Misato started the car as she berated herself in her head.

* * *

Along the way, Shinji's stare didn't leave the floor of her car. Feeling increasingly terrible about her slip-up earlier, Misato tried to get him talking.

"So, do you see your father often?"

Shinji looked up at her, but quickly darted his eyes away. He hugged his knees slightly.

"Not really. He visited once when I was 7, but other than that I haven't really seen him since I was 3."

His voice hardened slightly near the end, the last words coming out of his mouth like poison.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize." She was sincere, but Shinji kept staring downwards.

"It's okay. I know it's a weird situation."

Shinji's comment hit a nerve within Misato. Slightly seething, she spoke firmly.

"...Hey. Don't talk about being in a weird situation."

Misato's comment roused Shinji's attention, and for the first time during their trip, he turned to look at her. It wasn't a positive look – a fact Misato knew almost instantly - but she continued speaking anyway.

"Kids should never have to think that their childhood is weird. You didn't have a complete family – that sucks, but you still had a family to fall back on. All things considered, you got off pretty lightly – and really, kids come from all sorts of backgrounds. Nothing weird about it."

Shinji's eyes filled with tears, and he balled his fists.

"You don't know a damn thing about me, you know! How can you talk about how I feel when you don't know how I've lived so far in my life?"

Confronted by the mess that she'd created, Misato cooled her uprising anger to a simmer. As much as she'd enjoy a good yelling match, she knew that she was not in the right place to be having one.

Before delivering Shinji, Misato had to fix the situation between them.

"… Look, I can't say I understand your exact situation, but both of my parents died when I was 6."

Confronted with this new information, Shinji froze in his spot. Misato continued.

"I guess it's wrong of me to tell you how to feel, but feeling like you've been dealt a bad hand for not having the "standard" childhood is just counter-productive. Call me presumptuous, but if you didn't have a bad upbringing, then it isn't useful to be worrying about how things could have been."

"...Yeah." Shinji's voice was saturated with guilt and restraint. After a few awkward moments of silence, he looked like he was going to say something else - but he caught himself and began staring down again.

Misato noticed.

"…If you have anything you wanna ask me, you can ask. I won't mind."

The same woman who had been steaming with rage just a moment ago had seemingly cooled off completely, and was prompting him for questions. Shinji felt wary about the situation he found himself in, but he was curious about her regardless.

"Okay... uhh…"

Despite his curiosity, Shinji couldn't think of a single question to ask. Misato, noticing the hesitation, gently rushed him.

"What is it?"

Shinji blushed as he came across a suitable question.

"Please excuse me for asking, but... a-are you my father's wife?"

"Woah, no way!" Nearly flying off the road as she jerked in surprise, Misato yelled much louder than she had intended. "I was just ahead of my work, and he needed someone to pick you up!"

Her sudden reaction frightened Shinji, and he withdrew into his seat.

"Sorry for asking, it's just... something he wouldn't have told me."

After seeing what shape Shinji was in, his words sounded very plausible. Nodding to show that she understood, Misato resumed driving regularly.

* * *

They soon showed up to a sizable house, with an oddly angular design – the roof dipped sharply in the middle, and the walls sloped inwards towards the ground. It looked more like an artpiece than a house. Misato got Shinji's bag out of her car, and unlocked the front door for him.

"Well, this is it I guess." She gave him the house-keys, and placed his bag by the door.

"Do you really have to go?"

She smiled.

"Yeah. Your dad only wanted me to drive you here – you've got food and water in there, and you can grab whatever you like according to him."

Seeing him in, Misato said a simple goodbye before she began to walk away.

After thinking about the talk they'd had on the way, though, she stopped.

Shinji had begun walking inside when he heard a knock at the door. Thinking Misato had forgotten to tell him something important, he opened the door to see her leaning on the doorway, furiously scribbling something onto a piece of paper.

She passed it to him, and he realized that it was her phone number.

"Don't get the wrong idea," she chirped playfully, "I'm not giving you this to hit on you!"

Shinji blushed at her, and she giggled. It was just a bit of harmless fun on her part, and he actually looked kind of cute when he was embarrassed.

After getting her fill, she assumed her regular posture - albeit with a much more genuine smile than before - and continued talking.

"Look, I feel bad about giving you a hard time on the way. I think you're an alright kid - if you get lonely or need someone to talk to, you can give me a call. I got let out early today, so you won't be bothering me if you need to chat."

Though the gesture was confusing, Shinji nodded.

"Thank you, I will."

As he thanked her, Misato saw a small smile tugging at the corner of Shinji's mouth. It was miniscule, but it made Misato feel much better.

"Well, I should get going." With a smile, she turned around and began walking away. She was halfway down the walkway when Shinji's voice rang out from the doorstep.

"W-wait!"

Misato turned around to face him. His voice had a trace of desperation in it, and she could see that he was having trouble saying something. He finally managed to say what he wanted to say, half-shouting it from where he stood;

"...Thank you for picking me up from the station! It was nice to meet you!"

He hadn't looked directly at her as he said it, but Misato could tell he really meant what he said. It looked like he'd strained himself to say as much as he had, and for Misato that was more than enough.

With a wide grin on her face, she waved at him.

"You too, Shinji! I'll see you around, okay?"

"O-okay!" His mood increased dramatically, and as Misato turned and continued walking to her car, her smile softened.

_See you around, kid._

* * *

Shinji's eyes fluttered open, and he looked around groggily. He spied the alarm clock on Rei's side of the bed, and saw that it was 11:06 - presumably at night, considering the darkness and the air temperature.

It had gotten colder during his sleep, and he felt goosebumps all around his body. All except for his left side - which, upon closer inspection, was due to Rei's presence there, her head on his chest and her eyes closed.

His eyes brushed along her naked shoulders, and he noticed that she was shivering in her sleep - her back being almost totally exposed to the chilly night air. Being careful not to stir too much, he took the blanket which was lying across their lower halves, and brought it up over them more - covering his chest and draping it over Rei's shoulders.

Upon feeling the added warmth, Rei moved closer to Shinji. He put his other arm around her and hugged her tight. This seemed to comfort her, because she relaxed and began breathing evenly into his chest.

Seeing that all was right with the world, Shinji put his head back down and drifted back to sleep.

But before he fell completely, he remembered the dream he'd had - a reminiscence of his first moments in Tokyo-3. The day when his life had begun to change for the better.

And despite its ups and downs, he wouldn't have redone it any other way.

**AN: This was just a nice breather chapter, to read and to write. I wanted to make it longer, but after the length of the other chapters I decided the story needed a shift-up – a little break from the long, towering chapters that preceded it.**

**This is the first chapter in a line of flashback chapters. The story began with Shinji and Rei living together, engaged and with stable jobs - their pasts explained away in a paragraph. I envisioned this story as a here-and-now deal, but I'm beginning to really get into this story's past. It's no secret that this story is an AU just so I can write them all different and happy in the real world, but I'm thinking about how different things have turned out, how everyone met etc. Also, I really want to imagine how Shinji and Rei grew closer, and how Shinji proposed.**

**Next chapter: Fuyutsuki's offer, sandwiches and a cranky Shinji.**

_Edited 23/01/15_


	5. Chapter 5

After a break day for both of them on Monday, and a surprising visit from an old face on Tuesday, Shinji and Rei worked throughout the week at their regular pace. They'd discussed Mr. Fuyutsuki's wedding gift between themselves throughout the next two days, but otherwise nothing else had really changed. They were back to their normal routine - wake up, work, sleep.

On Friday morning, Shinji woke up at 6:30 to a soft rapping at the door. He untangled himself from Rei's sleeping form, accidentally waking her in the process, and went to see who was there.

When he answered the door, he found Fuyutsuki standing outside. He had a heavy brown coat over his shoulders and what looked like an oakwood cane in his right hand. On his head was a felt bowler hat.

Shinji welcomed him in quietly.

"Mr Fuyutsuki, sir. What brings you here at this hour?"

"I appear to have woken you, Shinji. I apologize." Fuyutsuki turned towards him quickly. "I'm going out of town with your father for a business convention."

"Oh, I see." Shinji couldn't really say much else - the situation had put him on the spot, and he hadn't woken up properly yet.

"...But aren't you retired, sir?"

Shinji and Fuyutsuki turned around to see Rei, haphazardly dressed in some dirty clothes, but in a decent state.

He greeted her cheerfully. "Yes, I am retired, but I still get the old worker's itch from time to time. Gendo invites me to these conventions every now and again, and I take the chance to keep myself active."

"Ahh, I see." Rei bowed politely as she slipped past into the kitchen to put some coffee on.

"We'll be gone until Sunday, which is why I wanted to see you kids before we went." Fuyutsuki half-shuffled in place to keep the warmth going through his body. "I hate to rush you both, but I would really like an answer to my proposition before we leave."

As the water boiled, Rei offered him a cup of coffee. He refused.

"I'm sorry, dear, but I'm on a tight schedule this morning. Gendo's actually waiting for me out in the car."

Shinji imagined his father waiting on someone in a car, and the thought amused him. He'd never seen a part of his father who was willing to wait for others - he was probably frowning.

He focused back on the topic at hand, though - Mr. Fuyutsuki needed an answer.

"Sir, your gift is a very kind gesture, and we would love to accept your offer. Thank you very much for your generosity." Shinji bowed formally, and Fuyutsuki's face lit up.

"That's great to know! I'm glad you came around in the end."

Rei went to Shinji's side quickly, and bowed alongside him. Before Fuyutsuki could say his goodbyes, however, she caught his attention.

"We would like to thank you for such a gift - we couldn't possibly accept it empty-handed. When we have our ceremony and reception, we would be honored if you could attend as a guest of honor."

Fuyutsuki took her hands. "Of course I'll accept. As long as I'm there to see you both tie the knot, I don't care how I'm treated. Just treat me as a regular guest."

Everybody smiled, glad in their own way that the situation had been sorted out.

Once Fuyutsuki had finished shaking the pair's hands, he straightened out his back, giving him a semblence of the authority he once commanded as their superior. He barely looked like he needed the cane.

"Alright, how do I look?"

"Very sharp, sir." Shinji softly patted the older man on the shoulder. Fuyutsuki grinned.

"Good to know I still have the old charm." Fuyutsuki began going for the door, saying his leave.

"Hold on, sir." Shinji quickly stopped him. "Do you know who's taking my father's place until you get back?"

"Ah yes, Gendo did mention that." Fuyutsuki rubbed his chin as he tried to remember. He soon had the answer:

"I believe he said something about Ms. Katsuragi."

"Okay, that's good to know." Shinji smiled, but inside he felt slightly afraid. Misato was a capable replacement, but no doubt she'd use her position to make fun at Shinji's expense.

"Goodbye Mr. Fuyutsuki, sir." Rei bowed again, and Shinji followed suit. The older man tipped his bowler hat, and was out the door.

* * *

After their surprise morning visitor, the pair began their day. Shinji showered first, and he noticed the state the bathroom was in - their tub had collected dust and needed a clean, and the shower booth was almost completely opaque at the bottom due to soap stains. One day soon, I'm going to clean this place like I promised, he thought.

Once he was out, he saw that Rei had begun cooking things for both breakfast and lunch. She left the kitchen in his hands while she had her shower, and by the time she was out and dressed both their meals were ready. They ate quickly that morning - they were still slightly sluggish from their unexpected awakening, and were beginning to run overtime.

The drive to work was faster than usual, and the pair made it to NERV with minutes to spare. Like always, they parted at the logbook and headed in their separate directions.

When Shinji entered his department, he noticed a card on his desk. It was written in Misato's handwriting - it would seem that the shenanigans were about to begin.

"Shinji - come to my office right away. Your future employment with NERV is hanging in the balance. - Misato."

Shinji looked at his "In" pile, only to find the tray empty.

It seemed like she had covered as many bases as she could. He'd just have to play along if he wanted to get any work done.

With no other choice available, Shinji trudged to his father's office - now under the command of Misato Katsuragi.

He opened the door, not even bothering to knock - to find Misato in his father's chair with Kaji in her lap, the pair of them fully clothed (thankfully) but making out like there was no tomorrow. Misato turned and saw Shinji, and dropped Kaji on the floor like a pile of bricks.

"M-Mr. Ikari!" She was flustered for a moment, likely due to the heavy petting. "Knock next time, or I'll dock your paycheck!"

Shinji sighed in frustration. He was tired from his early waking - his tolerance for shenanigans was practically non-existent.

"Give me my paperwork, Misato."

"That's Ms. Katsuragi to you, Mr. Ikari~"

For someone who had just been caught making out with someone in her boss's office, by the boss's son no less, she had recovered fairly quickly.

Shinji rubbed his temples in irritation. "Please don't be like this."

Kaji stood up, rubbing the back of his head. "If you think she's being hard to deal with, then you haven't met the floor yet."

Shinji looked up, and it was clear that he was reaching the end of his tether. His ears were red and his eyes were narrowed - a fairly radical change from his usual grumpy scrowl. Misato noticed.

"...Okay, that's enough."

Kaji looked at Misato in surprise. "Wait, you're giving up already? This is a first."

"It's fine, Kaji," she spoke in a tone of voice far more down to earth than usual, "it just feels like we've gone a bit far."

Kaji looked at Shinji and noticed the difference as well.

"Yeah, good call I guess." He straightened out his crooked tie.

Shinji seemed to calm down slightly - at least not looking as angry.

"Paperwork, please."

Misato pointed to a chair near the door. Shinji gathered his things and left without saying a word.

As soon as Shinji left, Kaji let out a deep breath.

"Wow, things got really tense all of a sudden. I didn't know he could get that mad."

"Yeah, it's not like him to get this angry." Misato sighed. "I'll have to talk to him about it later."

* * *

Rei was working as she usually did, but Asuka was restless and kept trying to create conversation. Their department was getting a new worker - an "outsider", as Asuka phrased it - and she was being oriented by Aoba.

She was a bit spacey, but she was positive and responsive to instruction. In the 20 minutes she'd been in their department, she'd grasped most of the concepts Aoba told her about, and had even built up a bit of a rapport with him.

Rei finished marking a stack of paperwork, and filed it away. Asuka was on the attack before she could do any more work.

"Man, I dunno about that new Maya girl," Asuka harshly whispered, to Rei's continued annoyance.

"What is so bad about a new employee being added to the roster?"

"Well, she doesn't have a feel of the place! We had specialist training funded by NERV, but she's come in from another city - what if she can't keep up?"

Rei looked up at Asuka, visibly irritated.

"We were taught in classes funded by NERV, but we were not a part of NERV until we were old enough to be employed. I do not understand your bias."

Asuka huffed in a dainty, uppity way. "Well, don't come running to me when your workload increases."

"If my workload increases, then so will yours." Rei grabbed another file and opened it. "And you'll most likely come running to me."

Asuka smirked. "You do have a point, I guess."

Aoba walked over to the pair, with Maya in tow.

"Ladies, this is Maya Ibuki. She'll be joining our department, starting from tomorrow."

Asuka grumbled audibly. She extended a hand for Maya to shake, which Maya took cautiously. Asuka's grip was hard, almost painful, and it came with what seemed like a warning:

"I hope you're good at what you do. The actions of one worker affect the rest."

"Says the woman who neglects her work to speak to others."

Rei's gently-spoken jab left Asuka reeling, and her mood and composure plummeted. Asuka's grip loosened on Maya's hand, which the older woman began to nurse.

"What's got you in such a bad mood today?!"

Rei was too busy for Asuka's antics, and for once she made that clear.

"I'm in an -irritable- mood. You, however, are in a rotten, obstructive mood."

Asuka visibly took offense to Rei's comment. As a flurry of angry words and German expletitives left her mouth, Aoba guided Maya as far from their bubbling argument as he could.

* * *

By lunch, everyone had calmed down somewhat. Both Shinji and Kaji were sitting at the usual table - Misato had gone to fetch a catering order. Rei joined them not long after, but there was no sign of Asuka. Rei spoke before either of the boys could comment;

"Asuka might not make it to lunch."

The 3 ate lunch in silence for a few minutes, before Kaji piped up.

"So, have you both spoken with Mr. Fuyutsuki recently?"

"Yes, we did - this morning, in fact." Rei's chopsticks clicked together as a piece of pork fell through their grip.

"And?"

"...We decided to accept it." Shinji rubbed the back of the neck.

"That's good news - a gift like that is like a stepping stone to your future lives." The older man swished the last of his canned coffee around.

Shinji spoke up, timidly but audibly. "...Would it be okay to just drop the subject whenever anyone asks about it? It's still a bit of an uncomfortable subject."

Kaji was going to comment, but he remembered Shinji's reaction earlier in the morning. There was only a slight chance of him getting angry again, but he figured that it couldn't hurt to drop the subject.

"...Yeah, sure kid. I'll tell Misato that you guys accepted, if that's alright."

"That'd be great, thanks."

It was like all the tension that had built up over the course of the day was beginning to dissipate. Shinji's mood lightened a bit, and Rei began to speak a little more openly.

Misato arrived halfway into the lunch hour with a large, 4-tiered platter of sandwiches and a bucket of fried chicken. By the time lunch ended, not even the whole top tier of sandwiches had been consumed.

Misato seemed happy about it.

"Oh well, I guess I'll have to snack on these throughout the day!"

Shinji and Kaji matched stares. So that'd been why she ordered so much.

Everyone began to move out, with Misato carrying a solid 4 trays of food and half a bucket of chicken, when her voice rang out in Shinji's direction.

"Hey, Shinji! I'd actually like a word whenever you're not busy - maybe even now, if you help me with this!"

He thought back to the work he'd left before lunch - he could probably do it when he got back.

"Alright, hold tight, Misato!"

* * *

He went back and took some trays. By the time they'd lugged the excessive haul of food to Gendo's office, everyone had gone back to work.

Once they had put everything down, Misato relaxed behind Gendo's desk. Shinji sat in front of her - it almost felt like he'd gone in for a job interview.

"So, what did you need me for?"

"I wanted to speak about this morning." Misato's expression darkened slightly.

"...Fair enough." Shinji's gaze began to wander around the room.

"He really doesn't want to talk about it..."

Misato knew Shinji fairly well, and she could tell when he was uncomfortable. Thinking back on the morning though, among all the other times she'd been making him uncomfortable for entertainment, she knew that she had to discuss her feelings with him.

"Look, Shinji - it's not fair for me to make fun of you like I've been doing."

Misato, apologizing? The thought was almost foreign to Shinji - she only apologized for really serious accidents, not for making him angry.

"It's okay, Misato - I've moved on from..."

"It's not just about this morning, Shinji. It's about the last few weeks."

She looked serious about what she was saying. Shinji's thoughts went back along the past few weeks - he'd taken her attitude with stride, and they were getting along fine in the workplace. In his mind, there really was no need to apologize - they were getting along well.

Misato sighed. "I've been much harsher on you lately, and I needed to tell you why."

"Are you saying there's a reason why you've been messing with me for so long?" The concept confused Shinji. Why would she have been acting harsher towards him?

Unless... the constant coupley activities, eating together - it couldn't be...

"Yeah."

Shinji beat her to her own answer.

"Misato... I'm sorry, but I'm engaged."

She blinked.

"Wait... You think it's because... I'm attracted to you?!"

Her reaction surprised Shinji. "Wait, so it's something else?"

"YES!"

Shinji realized exactly what he'd just said.

"...Oh jeez, I'm sorry!"

"'Oh jeez' is right, Shinji!" Misato had taken a sandwich from one of the trays and thrown it at him. It made a mess on his business shirt, and he yelled out in shock.

* * *

They yelled at each other for a little longer, until they were both tired out. An entire tray of sandwiches ended up on the floor, and another ended up on the floor and walls. Both of them lied on the floor, covered in mayonnaise and chicken - Shinji's head propped up on the wall, and Misato lying a few feet away.

Shinji spoke up, once the silence had gotten too much to bare.

"I know it's a bit too late to ask, but what were you gonna tell me about your attitude?"

Misato sat up slowly, her hair matted by the mayonnaise.

"...Kaji. I've been acting harsher because of Kaji."

"Wait, Kaji? I thought you liked him."

Misato sighed. "I do like him, I like him a lot. But he's part of the reason."

She wasn't making much sense to Shinji - maybe she'd been stressed out by his reaction that morning, and was just as tired as he was.

"Then wh-"

"Let me finish, Ikari."

Shinji stopped.

She had taken to feeling through her hair for any solid debris when she began talking.

"Me and Kaji have been on-again off-again since college. When I'm with him, I feel like the person I was back then - young and wild, looking for entertainment. And honestly, you're really fun to tease, which is why we've been bonding over teasing you."

Shinji was stunned for a moment. The first think Misato heard out of him was;

"If it was that simple to sum up, why did we just have this whole fight?!"

She looked around. So much of the office had been covered in sandwich material - there was probably chicken in every nook and cranny. She sighed - so such destruction born from misinformation.

"Hey, if it was so simple, why did you think I was crushing on you?!"

Shinji thought back, and he honestly couldn't believe he'd actually thought what he had. Before he even realized it, he'd begun laughing.

Stressed by the state they were in, and the state of the office, Misato began to laugh too. They were both soon in hysterics, laughing for reasons one had forgot and which the other didn't know in the first place.

The laughter lasted for a while, but subsided quietly as both of them thought about the situation they were in.

"...I'm worried about just calling the cleaners up here." Misato pulled out her cell phone, her hand wiped clean by a tissue from Gendo's desk. "Everyone will hear the announcement, and if people see us sneaking out in the state we're in, they're going to start rumors about us. It'd be weird."

Shinji thought, but she was right - it was a dumb situation, but he knew for a fact that news traveled fast at NERV, regardless of its legitimacy.

The answer was right in front of them, though - Misato didn't grasp it, but the idea came to Shinji pretty fast

"...Why don't we just call Rei and Kaji in here and explain what happened?"

Misato blinked.

"You know, that's not a bad idea."

* * *

They both contacted their significant others, and both of them had decided to view the carnage for themselves. When they entered the office, Kaji had already begun laughing - but he only got worse when he saw the sight for himself. Rei had grabbed a large amount of paper towels for Shinji and Misato to wipe themselves off with.

"So wait, you guys were worried people would think you guys were involved in some... messy, high-stakes office affair, and that it'd travel back to us?" Kaji had a hard time containing his laughter, and when he received confirmation he laughed even harder. Rei had taken to rubbing Shinji's hair with a paper towel to get the mayonnaise out. Misato was visibly irritated by Kaji's behavior - in an angry, smouldering way.

When Shinji and Misato were presentable enough, the group left the room in good spirits. Misato was going to wash herself further in the restroom, but she stopped Shinji from leaving.

"Wait a second, you. Your day here is over."

A brief moment of panic washed over Shinji. "Wait, are you sending me home early?"

"Yeah, I am." Misato pointed to Rei as well. "You too."

"Wait, why?!" Shinji raised his voice slightly. "We have work to do!"

"Relax, Shinji, you're not in trouble."

Anger turned to confusion.

"Why are you sending us..."

"Because you're an eyesore for singles!" Misato yelled obnoxiously. "You're putting us all off of our own work, so you should just go home and sort it out between yourselves!"

Both Shinji and Rei blushed.

"People can hear you, Misato, please be qui-"

"You heard me, you curs!" She was just having fun with it now. "Leave, or you'll really get punished!"

She quietened down quickly. "I'll cover Shinji's workload, and I'll circulate Rei's around her department. Just take the opportunity I'm giving you - just mark your regular finishing times and go, you deserve it."

As they went to leave, Misato raised her voice again. "That's right, begone!"

"You can stop now, you're just making the scene less believable."

Misato huffed at Kaji. "Bleh, you're no fun."

* * *

**AN: Jesus Christ. The longest chapter yet.**

**This chapter is as late as it is because I stopped writing for a while. The whole Ferguson thing has been stressing me out, and I stopped feeling the writer's itch, if that makes sense. I'll see how far I can get through this story, but I don't know if I'll continue writing it.**

**Thank you for reading so far, by the way. I know this story is very purple prosey most of the time, and I violate Show, Don't Tell... more or less all of the time. I'm glad you're enjoying this story, even as it's been moving away from fluff. Next chapter is a sweet little surprise, so stay tuned.**

_**Edited 28/10/2014**_


	6. Chapter 6

_You know the drill - AN at the bottom. Please read it when you get to it, it's important._

* * *

Once Shinji and Rei had gotten home, Shinji jumped right in the shower. The paper towels had only done so much to clean him off, and on the ride home his body heat had spoiled the mayonnaise which was soaked into his shirt. Rei took the half-empty hamper out as soon as he'd gotten out of his clothes, and went downstairs to wash them.

Once Shinji was out of the shower, he put on some comfortable clothes - a loose, slightly used t-shirt and some comfortable slacks. Spying the empty hamper, he headed down to the laundry room. Sure enough, he found Rei waiting by a running washing machine.

"Thank you for taking care of me." He went over to her and gently wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

She rested her head against the nape of his neck, and breathed him in. The old shirt he was wearing had traces of his musk, and it mixed well with the scent of soap and flowers.

It had been a long day for both of them, even with their premature expulsion from their workplace. Shinji was tired from the ridiculous sandwich fight he'd had, and Rei was tired from the constant stress over Fuyutsuki's offer and Asuka's constant presence around her desk.

"When did things get so tiring?" She spoke into his chest, losing the will to lift her head off of him.

"It feels like it was after our day off." Shinji squeezed her, and she sank into his chest as he spoke. "It was meant to re-orient us and help us clean our apartment up, but it's created more problems than it's solved."

"Mmmm..."

Shinji looked down. She was on the verge of falling asleep in his arms, her face buried in his chest. She looked exhausted.

"...Hey, you go on up to bed." Shinji broke the embrace and held her sides. "I'll take care of this washing, and you can have a rest. You deserve it."

She looked up at him. His eyes were beginning to develop bags, but his eyes were focused and serious.

She leant up and kissed him.

"Thank you."

Once Rei had left, Shinji's posture drooped. He was still somewhat refreshed from his shower, but he was just about ready to fall into a deep sleep himself.

He stuck out the half-hour spin cycle of his clothes by walking around the washing area, and when they were done, he took the clothes to one of the coin-operated dryers which sat along the back wall. Digging through his pockets for change, he managed to scrounge up 200 yen, and he got the dryer going.

After another half-hour, drying his wet clothes to a state of only mild dampness, Shinji lugged them up to the apartment. He was ready to drop dead on his doorstep when he got up to it, and once he'd placed his clothes around the room to dry, he went to the bathroom.

While he sat on the toilet, however, he looked around. The room was as dirty as ever - dusty tub, soap-stained shower booth, general filth around the toilet...

As he noticed the mess, he felt a small nagging feeling growing within him. He wanted to sleep, but he was surrounded by a mess he'd promised to clean. He was going out on Sunday, and he was working tomorrow - the time he had was valuable.

"...Yeah. I'm gonna do this."

* * *

He finished his business on the toilet and sprang into action immediately. He went to the kitchen and looked under the sink, and soon he had filled a small bucket with bottles of cleaning chemicals, along with a fresh sponge and some steel wool. He filled a second bucket with warm water.

As he carried the buckets to the bathroom, he decided on his first target - the shower.

The floor of the shower was clean enough, but the glass booth encasing the shower was caked with months of soap residue - to the point that Shinji couldn't even see through it. He gave the shower floor a quick once-over, and sat in the shower booth as he cleaned the door.

The chemicals began to act quickly, and soon he was working away the soap residue, slowly but surely. Inhaled traces of the chemicals combined with his fatigue, and he thought to himself about the whiteness of the soap as it came away from the glass.

It honestly reminded him of the porcelain-like shade of Rei's skin. It seemed like every inch of her skin was as white as snow.

Shinji stopped.

_Is it rude to compare her skin to soap residue?_

He laughed quietly to himself. _It probably is._

After a few minutes of effort, Shinji could see through the glass again. The residue had run down the drain or been soaked into the sponge. Shinji continued as the results of his effort began to make themselves clearer.

He scrubbed the door and sides of the booth until a majority of the mess had been cleaned up. When he decided to stop, there were still traces of residue - but as Shinji looked over it, he deemed it acceptable.

The last rays of the sun were barely visible on the horizon as Shinji finished with the shower. After picking himself up and leaving the booth, he sat down on the edge of their bathtub for a moment to collect his thoughts. Their bath was large and square - much like a jacuzzi in its shape, but with just a faucet on the wall and a plug-hole on the floor of it. The pair showered more often than not, so the tub had collected a substantial amount of dust.

When they'd first moved into their apartment, they had decided to celebrate with a bath. Though Rei didn't mind either way, Shinji had decorated the bathroom with flower petals and colored candles, and had gotten a bottle of alcohol-free champagne. They had sat in that bath for hours, until the water began to get cold - lying in each other's arms, surrounded by the gentle flickering of candlelight, whispering secrets and gentle nothings to each other.

Everything Shinji had said then, every exaggerated comfort he'd described to Rei - he'd meant every word.

Since then, the bath had only been used once or twice - usually whenever the shower was on the fritz. More often than not, it was coated with dust. By Shinji's guess, it would have been just under a year since it had been cleaned.

He climbed in to pick out the larger dust bunnies. It wasn't long in his new position before he began to run out of energy - his eyelids became heavier and he had trouble focusing on his task. He was about to lay down and rest when he heard footsteps enter the bathroom.

* * *

"...Shinji?"

Rei had gotten up from her rest to go to the bathroom, and was surprised to see how clean the shower booth had become. She looked over at Shinji, on his knees in the tub - he looked a mess, covered in water and dirt as well as looking haggard and exhausted.

"Why are you pushing yourself so hard?"

Shinji coughed.

"I promised to clean the bathroom on Monday, and I had the time now to do it, so... I've been cleaning."

Rei went over to him. "You should come to bed. You look exhausted."

Shinji looked down at the tub. He'd only moved a bit of dust around - it wasn't like he was leaving it half-finished.

He took Rei's hand, and she helped him out - only for them to discover that his legs were now covered in dust.

Shinji looked over towards the shower. He'd already had a shower that day, and he'd just cleaned it, but it looked like his only option.

After a second shower, Rei helped him put everything away. They tipped the bucket of lukewarm water into the bathtub, and Shinji rinsed it out before putting it back under the kitchen sink. Everything went back where he'd found it, and soon he was on his way to bed. Rei went to the bathroom like she'd originally planned, and came back to bed soon after.

"I appreciate your work on the bathroom, but please don't push yourself so hard." Rei was lying close to Shinji and running her fingers through his hair. "You were already tired from today, it's not healthy."

"I know, but I thought... I had the free time to do it, and I might not have that free time for a while now." Shinji parted Rei's hand from his hair, and buried his head into his pillow.

Rei kissed his cheek. "We'll have time before we leave on Sunday, so we'll both get it done then."

Shinji rolled his head over so that he was facing Rei. "But I promised to do it myself on Monday..."

"That was Monday. It doesn't matter as long as it gets done."

Shinji smiled a weary smile.

"Thank you, Rei."

He rolled over, and held her from behind. His head sat comfortably by her shoulder, his soft breaths rolling over her skin like clouds across the sky, each breath giving her goosebumps. She shifted so his face was in the crook of her neck, where he could breathe past her skin.

He kissed her neck, sending a jolt of pleasure down her spine.

She jerked in surprise, and gently kicked his shin with the back of her foot. Shinji grinned a mischievous grin.

"Trouble-maker."

They settled down comfortably, and soon they were on their way to sleep.

* * *

Another couple were having their own conversation, in an apartment complex 45 kilometers away.

"Don't you want to go to bed with me?"

Kaji draped his arms over Misato's shoulders, kissing her cheek.

"Sleazy bastard."

Misato tapped him on the nose with a stapler she had on her desk. It was just a bump, but Kaji flew back in surprise.

"Oh no, I think it's bleeding!" he shouted mockingly, as he dramatically collapsed onto the floor of Misato's apartment. "I'll have to be on bed-rest!"

"You know damn well that I'm busy here, so stop clowning around." Misato hadn't even turned to look at him.

She was buried up to her neck in paperwork, and Kaji knew it. Aside from Gendo's workload, she'd taken it upon herself to do Shinji's work on her own - and he'd only gotten halfway through it that day.

"Sorry, I just wanted to lighten the mood up a bit."

Misato sighed.

"You can lighten the mood by lightening my workload. Here, check these figures on your laptop and print them out for me to work with."

She handed him a USB drive, and he soon got to work helping her. After around 20 minutes of fact-checking and printing, though, he was beginning to get restless.

"Man, this isn't my idea of an ideal sleepover."

"Yeah, I know." Misato moved away from her desk. "I guess this is what we get for planning our visits in advance."

She went into her kitchen and began boiling some water.

"Coffee?"

"That'd be great, thanks." Kaji continued reading through the figures. Misato soon brought out 2 piping hot cups of instant coffee, and set them on a small table next to her work desk.

For the first time in 3 hours, Misato took the time to relax. She'd taken her work into her and Kaji's department while a cleaning crew cleaned Gendo's office, and washed as much as she could in the company restroom. She'd come straight home with Kaji, only to get in the shower, step out and resume working again.

She'd been working in a loose yellow tanktop which she pulled out of the clothes hamper, and a short pair of denim cutoffs. Kaji had undone his tie and the first 2 buttons of his work shirt, and he'd loosened the collar a bit.

"So, you were spooked about Shinji possibly having the hots for you, eh?"

Misato choked on her coffee. Both her and Shinji had been nothing but honest to Rei and Kaji - for better or for worse.

She choked down what she could of her mouthful of coffee, and coughed the rest of it into a tissue.

"Look, it was a weird situation, okay? He used to have this... thing for me, when he wasn't sociable enough to make any friends. His interpretation spooked me."

"Really? That's it?"

"Yeah." Misato looked down and rubbed her arm. She knew that she'd jumped the gun, and that her reaction was uncalled for - the entire day had just been a giant mistake.

She awaited Kaji's usual jab, the sharp comment to poke fun at her. But it never came.

"Fair enough, I guess." Kaji shrugged, as he printed off the documents he'd inspected.

His tone was fairly neutral, a rare occurrence - and one which roused Misato's suspicions.

"This should go without saying," she began as she put her cup down and turned towards Kaji, "but if you tell Shinji that I told you that, I'm going to hurt you."

"Yeah, I know. Sure thing."

He turned from his laptop and sipped his coffee, as a stack of sheets began emerging from Misato's printer. Not a trace of snark was present in his voice.

"...Meh, you're no fun tonight."

Kaji suddenly found himself bearing Misato's weight - she'd slumped over him from behind, her arms slung over his shoulders.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Kaji put his laptop next to him on the couch.

Misato moved around sluggishly, her face smooshed against Kaji's back.

"I'm shleeeeeepy..."

Kaji let the stress out of his shoulders as best he could, and tried to shrug Misato off.

"It doesn't matter if we didn't finish, we can get it done tomorrow."

Misato sighed happily at Kaji's suggestion. Peeling herself off of him, she went to the bathroom before making a beeline to bed. Kaji shut down his laptop and put it on charge, and followed Misato's lead.

After they were settled in, Misato cuddled up to Kaji a bit.

"D'you still want to fool around a little?"

The thought danced through Kaji's head, but he shook his head. "No, not tonight."

Misato yawned. "Man, I can't believe we're too tired to even plow."

"I know, it must be a first for us." Kaji pulled her in and put his face in her hair. Misato sunk into him, as the heat of the room began to send them both to sleep.

A slight, awkward realization hit Misato suddenly, and she spoke up.

"...Are we acting all coupley like the kids?"

Kaji groaned. "I'm honestly too tired to care."

The blunt answer disarmed Misato, and the awkward feeling dissipated. The warm, heavy air of the room took over, and soon the pair was asleep.

* * *

**AN: Okay, first order of business - sorry for the lack of updates. It's likely that there will be few other updates past this one, but at the moment I feel like writing and I wanted to get this done so I could maybe move on to presenting the story in a new way. I pretty much jumped the shark with the stupid fight and the sandwiches - that was stupid and I want to get better.**

**I would like any sort of feedback you may have. In particular - do you enjoy the office setting? Would you like for it to be downplayed a bit, or is it fine as-is? Because I can write about characters handling paperwork for hours and hours, but I worry that it's extremely boring to read. I'm down with writing about the office as I have been, but I'm also down with downplaying it if it affects the story too much. Please, let me know what you think.**

**This chapter has 2 other endings - one extremely depressing and out of the blue (with elements I may recycle), and the other one unprintable without an M rating. It really ****_fingers_**** the line between T and M, and I thought it was safer to scrap it. If you want to read either, let me know and I'll message you a link.**

**And that about covers it. I'll be writing on and off for a few days, so you might get a new chapter sometime soon. It'll most likely be about the double date, but I might get a better idea and go with that. It's been a while since I've bothered to write anything. Thank you for reading, thank you for waiting and thank you for tolerating this massive Author's Note.**


	7. Chapter 7

"Hey Rei, are you going to be much longer?"

Rei finished applying foundation as Shinji's voice called from outside the bathroom.

"I'll be out in a moment."

She looked in the mirror quickly - the makeup she had applied complemented her appearance, with a light amount of mascara, an opaque, light pink shade of lipstick applied across her lips and the gentle dusting of foundation she had applied to her cheeks.

She was ready for the night ahead of them. Smiling, she opened the bathroom door and let Shinji in. They'd been living together for a good 3 years already, but Shinji was still blown away whenever he saw Rei dressed up - and this time was no exception.

"Oh wow, you look really good." His face went red, and he shifted in his shoes.

To Rei, he was too cute not to tease.

"Are you saying I don't usually look good?" She gave him a playful poke in the arm, and Shinji's limited composure fell apart.

"N-no, of course not!" Shinji felt the heat from his face spread to his shoulders as he tried to respond to Rei. She smiled gently, and planted a soft kiss on his cheek to calm him down.

"It's fine, I'm joking."

Shinji sighed. "You nearly gave me a heart attack, please don't do that."

Smiling, Rei left the room. Shinji stepped up to the sink and rummaged through a nearby box, pulling out an electric razor - his unkempt stubble was beginning to give him a resemblance to Kaji. His outfit for the night - beige slacks, a grey dress-shirt and a black/grey striped tie - added to the resemblance.

After shaving, Shinji joined Rei in the kitchen and poured himself some coffee. Both he and Rei were dressed and ready for their night out, but they had some time to spend before they left.

"...I hope they don't serve sandwiches at this restaurant, you and Ms. Katsuragi have a complicated history with those." Rei toyed with Shinji's hair as they leant against the kitchen counter.

"You're in a playful mood tonight," Shinji grinned as he moved away from Rei's hands. She smiled as he untangled his hair from her fingers.

"Honestly, I'm really excited for tonight. I can't wait to see where the night takes us."

"I get what you mean," Shinji said as he sipped his coffee. "We'll be with Misato and Kaji tonight - they always get into trouble when they're drinking. It'll be fun to tag along with them."

The pair stood still for a few moments. The warm smell of coffee swirled around the room, and it blended with the heat from the setting sun to create an intoxicatingly warm atmosphere.

Shinji looked over Rei's body. She had decided on an open maroon jacket and a dark grey dress which reached her knees - both her and Shinji had opted to dress up nice for the night, but not to the point where they'd look out of place dancing or such.

Rei noticed Shinji's gaze, and went over to him. Shinji put his arms back on the counter, sitting his coffee down, as Rei occupied his personal space. He could feel the energy radiating from her as her hands travelled upwards towards his chest, and waited for what he felt would be a short, intense make-out session.

Rei's hands stopped at his tie, and she straightened it. Content with her work, she pulled away from Shinji and poured herself a cup of coffee.

Embarrassed and slightly disappointed, Shinji buried his face into his cup.

* * *

"Come on, get your ass out of my shower!"

Misato tapped her foot impatiently, standing outside her bathroom door. Her hair was up and she was dressed for the night, but she still had to apply her makeup. Kaji had rushed her out to have a shower, and they were running out of preparation time.

The shower stopped after 15 minutes, and Kaji soon walked out of the room wearing a towel. Misato scowled in frustration as he strolled towards the bedroom, whistling.

"Inconsiderate bastard."

She entered the room, only to find that Kaji hadn't turned the ventilation fan on before the shower. The humidity in the room was intolerable - her makeup would run if she attempted to apply it in there.

Misato scowled harder.

By the time the humidity had subsided and she had applied her makeup, they were 10 minutes behind schedule. A fairly calm and relaxed Kaji was soon set upon by an angry Misato, makeup decent but noticeably rushed.

"Damnit Kaji, are you a caveman or something? Use the damn ventilation fan!"

"I'm sorry, it honestly slipped my mind." Kaji lowered his shoulders slightly.

Misato glared at him, but quickly diverted her attention to the time. They had to be on their way out - and fast.

"Whatever. Just grab your stuff and let's go."

Misato picked up her purse from the living room table, and Kaji grabbed his wallet and phone from the kitchen bench. They were soon out the door, Kaji struggling to keep up with the irritated Misato.

* * *

**AN: This is more or less a filler chapter. Like absolute filler - it was going to be the beginning of one big chapter about the night out, but I'm really falling behind on this story and I need to make some announcements. Sorry.**

**First - I am aiming for a monthly release schedule. I have no idea if I'll be able to adhere to it, though, so don't expect too much. Secondly, I am going back and editing some chapters. Chapter 5 already had a few tweaks, and I removed the thing about Gendo seeing the sandwich thing. I also plan to just remove the entire sandwich fight in general. Most of the edits will probably be some rephrasing and typo removal, though.**

**That's pretty much it. See you whenever the next update is, and I'm sorry for the lack of content lately - including this meager offering. The story's not dead, but I am struggling to write it.**


	8. Chapter 8

_Quick AN before we start - I'm currently without internet, so next update will probably either be around Christmas or after the New Year. Also, I've begun to touch up and rework some chapters - details at the bottom. Please enjoy._

* * *

"Leisure, Cooking &amp; Lazing" was a small eatery on the outskirts of Tokyo-3's business district. It was a regular stop for many NERV workers, despite its small size - the food was inexpensive and often delicious. It was here that Shinji, Rei, Misato and Kaji had decided to eat on their night out.

Shinji and Rei showed up first, 5 minutes before schedule. They went inside and took their ordered table, and waited for Misato and Kaji arrived.

The pair arrived half an hour later, both of them visibly disgruntled.

Ignoring their moods and lateness, both parties shook hands and made small talk. Misato and Kaji soon picked up the menus sitting in the middle of the table, and decided on their meals.

The mood stagnated quickly. Both Misato and Kaji were stiff as boards, and gave off a hostile feeling - even reading menus, they seemed ready to pounce at the slightest stimuli.

Eager to break the heavy mood surrounding the table, Shinji nervously spoke up.

"So, how about today's traffic? We just hit the edge of peak hour getting out here."

Misato peeked over her menu, a strained fake smile on her face. "Yeah, it was a real fight getting here, let me tell you!" She laughed and softly nudged Kaji with her palm. He looked up at Shinji and smiled briefly, before immersing himself back into the menu, clearly uncomfortable.

After a moment of increased awkwardness, the server came to take their orders. After confirming each order, the server took the table's menus and went back to his post.

Leaving the four to force small-talk.

"Miss Katsuragi, have you been following the Geneva debate recently?" Rei spoke up in a formal tone, softened by the social setting.

"What, the talk about working in N-2 restrictions or something?" Misato spoke a bit louder than intended, and lowered her voice quickly. "I've been paying a bit of attention, but I've mostly just been picking up bits and pieces from coworkers..."

As Rei led Misato into a discussion about bureaucracy, she nudged Shinji - half-paralyzed by the tense atmosphere. Nervously, he turned to Kaji.

"So, uhh... have you been keeping up with basketball lately?"

The question took Kaji a few seconds to comprehend, but it left him smiling.

"Shinji, basketball season ended a month ago. We watched the final game together, remember?"

Shinji's face went red with embarrassment. He and Kaji had headed out with some other people from their department to watch the last game - at "Leisure, Cooking &amp; Lazing", of all places.

Kaji reached over and gave Shinji a rough pat on the shoulder. "Hey, it's fine. I can't think of much to talk about either, to be honest. You tried."

Both men sat awkwardly for a few moments until Kaji noticed a small TV off to the side. A popular drama movie was playing - sound off, but it was a decent mood-setter and enough of a conversation piece to get things rolling.

"Hey Shinji, look at this TV over here. Did you hear about the director of this being arrested for tax fraud?"

Shinji looked over, and soon enough he and Kaji were talking about that director, and eventually the movies they planned to see. After a comfortable conversation on their end, the server from before appeared with their orders.

Rei, still smiling politely and listening to Misato until the interruption, had begun tearing at the corner of a napkin. She'd barely gotten a word in as Misato ranted about the "boneheaded decisions" being made over N-2 weaponry restrictions, and was slowly beginning to lose her composure. The food's arrival brought a quiet moment with it, and Rei savored the silence along with her chicken kiev.

Shinji and Kaji continued swapping small talk as they dug into their food, and Rei's attention was soon focused on her own dish. Deprived of her conversational partner, Misato ate a few morsels of her calamari, but soon got up to go to the bathroom. The silence was killing her, and she needed some cold water to cool off her boiling-hot palms.

* * *

Soon after she returned, her focus turned to her food. With the tension dissipating, the group made more comfortable small-talk with each other as they enjoyed their meals.

"Misato, how's your calamari?" Shinji smiled as he brought a piece of steak to his mouth.

"Not too bad, actually!" Misato grinned. Both she and Kaji had loosened up considerably, and Misato in particular was beginning to enjoy the evening.

The TV channel had been changed at another customer's request, and both Kaji and Shinji were watching between bites. It was a rerun of an old crime drama, and the pair were discussing the different actors who were appearing. Suddenly, something on screen surprised Shinji.

"...Wait, that guy's been in everything! What's he doing on a small show like this?"

Kaji laughed. "Yeah, this was his first break. This show's a good 20 years old now, you know."

"Wow, and it still looks so good!"

Misato, on the other hand, had softened considerably since the beginning of their meal. Rei was half-listening to the boys talking, but was otherwise eating her food.

"...Hey, I'm sorry for talking your ear off earlier." Misato shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

Rei looked up from her food. Misato looked slightly guilty, a small smudge of tartare sauce on the side of her frowning mouth.

"I understand that you were tense, it's fine."

The statement made Misato feel slightly better, but not by much. Giving Rei a half-hearted smile and a "thank you", both women soon returned to their meals.

It wasn't too long afterwards that everyone finished eating, and soon after that the bill came. Despite Shinji's suggestion of splitting the bill evenly, everyone ended up paying for their own meals (at Misato's insistence) and were soon out the door.

Misato was practically bounding down the street once they were out the door.

"C'mon, where are we going now? Let's do something!"

Kaji wasn't too far behind her, and Shinji and Rei brought up the rear at a comfortable pace. Content to let Misato decide what to do - figuring that they'd just end up at a bar, as planned - the younger couple spoke to each other as they walked.

Once Kaji got further ahead of them, Shinji spoke to Rei in a hushed whisper.

"Hey, do you think they're alright?"

"They seem to be okay now, but Miss Katsuragi seems a bit reckless tonight and Mr. Kaji seems a bit run-down."

Shinji looked ahead. Misato had found a decent drinking hole, and Kaji reluctantly followed her inside.

"Yeah, she seems a bit restless tonight. I'm kinda worried about her."

"We'll avoid getting into trouble tonight, hopefully." Rei opened the door to the bar, and both her and Shinji entered.

The trouble had already begun, however - Misato was drinking from a stein as tall as her head, and the liquid inside was vanishing fast. Kaji was at the bar ordering a similar stein.

"...Hopefully being the operative word," Rei added as she stepped up to the bar.

* * *

Once Shinji and Rei had been served, they went to sit with the older pair. Misato was nearly done with her glass, and Kaji was already halfway through his own. Seeing them sit, Misato finished her beer quickly and slammed her glass down on the table.

"Yeah, there's nothing like a cold one fresh from the tap!" Misato whooped with gusto. Soon she was out of her seat and at the bar, ordering four pitchers of beer for their table.

Rei had gotten a glass of cider, and Shinji had followed suit. Once Misato sat back down, she noticed almost immediately.

"CIDER?! C'mon, Shinji, who taught you how to drink in the first place?"

Shinji was a bit surprised - it'd been a while since he'd heard one of Misato's drunken barbs. For a moment, he was actually offended.

"Hey, I'm working my way up to beer, alright? You focus on your own damn glass."

Though it came out a bit sharper than he'd intended, Misato laughed.

"It's fine either way, kid - I love seeing that backbone of yours!"

While Misato lent over the table to embrace Shinji in an affectionate headlock, Rei leant over towards Kaji.

"Do you think you'll both be alright tonight?"

Kaji drained his glass and looked towards Rei. "Yeah... we'll try and behave. Shouldn't get in too much trouble tonight." His response was distant, and he looked away once he'd finished - the beer had begun to work on him, and he began pouring himself a second glass.

In 15 minutes, the first pitcher was gone. Shinji and Rei finished their glasses of cider.

Misato was already swaying, and Kaji was absorbed in his third glass. As Misato poured her fifth glass, she heard something coming from the back of the bar.

"Oh my god, does this bar have karaoke?!"

Almost out of reflex, Shinji stood up.

"Hey, I'm going to grab some onion rings. Who wants to chip in?"

The promise of onion rings piqued Misato's interest, and she threw her hands out with a few small notes.

"Get a large basket, please!"

Shinji accepted her offering, and soon went up to the bar to place his order. Misato slumped down in her seat and nursed her drink.

Rei filled her glass with beer, and when Shinji returned he did the same. They nursed their drinks and talked amongst themselves for a bit as they waited for their order.

As soon as the basket hit the table, Misato was all hands. Taking a good 8 onion rings, she jammed three of them in her mouth at once.

"Oh m' ghod! Schweet greashe!"

Kaji gave Shinji a thankful pat on the shoulder. Rei looked at him in confusion, and Kaji leant over and whispered to her:

"They're Misato's weakness. It's temporary, but Shinji's saved us from karaoke."

A necessary action indeed, Rei thought as she took a swig from her glass. The alcohol was hitting her, and as the bitter taste of the beer began to subside, she slowly began drinking more.

An hour after their arrival, the group was down to their last pitcher. The onion rings were nearly gone - a fair amount had by all - and everyone was pretty zoned out. Misato and Kaji in particular were the most affected, with 8 and 7 beers to their names respectively - Shinji and Rei following up with an even five each.

"Right now, let's get rid of this thing!" Misato's drunken yell didn't draw much attention in the nigh-deserted bar, but drew a low grunt from Kaji and an unprecedented enthusiastic response from Rei. Shinji was holding onto the table for support, and slapped its surface in agreement.

"But wait, hold on-" Misato lost her balance as she reached into her purse. She landed chest-first on the table and bumped the last pitcher of beer, splashing a few drops onto the table. Unfazed, she slammed a 5000-yen note on the table.

"Whoever drinks the most of this gets the moneythreetwooneGO!" Misato quickly hammered out, grabbing the jug first and filling her glass to the brim. Shinji grabbed it off of her next, prying the handle out of Kaji's liquor-weakened grip, and filled his glass. As he set it down again, Misato's hand darted out again and filled her empty glass - emptied in a matter of seconds.

Rei got a couple of drinks in as well, but otherwise Misato was the unanimous winner with five glasses, downed consecutively. Smugly taking her money back, she took it to the bar - and ordered another pitcher.

Kaji was in pretty bad shape at this point - murmuring to himself and slumping over the table. Shinji pushed the onion rings towards him.

"C'mon Kaji, onion rings. Eat 'em." Shinji kept pushing them into Kaji's forearm, to little response from Kaji. After a few unsuccessful attempts, Kaji shot up, grabbed the last few rings and scarfed them down. He then stood up suddenly - quickly grabbing the table to support himself.

A deep gurgle sounded from within him.

"'M gon' vomit. Shinji, help."

Shinji jumped up and guided the older man out of the bar, staying as upright as he could.

* * *

Misato came back to the table with the pitcher, and set it down.

"...Hey, weren't we drinkin' with th' boys just now?"

"Kaji's outside, being sick." Rei was the drunkest she'd been in recent memory, but visibly fighting the effect of alcohol. Though she was slurring a few words and supporting herself on the table, she still had some semblance to her earlier self.

"Ah, I c'n see that. Lightweight." Misato smirked to herself as she filled her glass. She offered a refill to Rei, and she nodded in appreciation.

After putting the jug down, Misato took a big sip before putting her glass down.

"...Rei, I wanna talk t'you 'bout somethin' serious. Kinda like touchy-feely emotion crap. S'that okay?"

Rei looked up from her cup and nodded, surprised but not opposed to the notion.

"...Y'shure? It's not gonna be m' usual kind of talking, alright? S'gonna be tot'lly honest, but s'not gonna be like me usually, 'kay?"

"Miss Katsurrraghi, I want to hear what you have to say."

"Alright, here comes." Misato wringed her hands nervously.

After a few silent moments, Rei took a big swig of her drink.

"I'm waiting."

"Okay, 'kay - here, it's comin'." Misato braced herself, finished her half-full glass of beer and began speaking.

"I think you're ssssSUCH a nice girl, Rei, and I think you're t' best thing t' ever happen to Shinji ever. Like I helped him a bit, but you're just so great, you're stable and lovely. You're a lovely young woman, always thinkin' of others..."

Misato stopped for a moment, reaching for the pitcher - knocking it across the table, away from her and into Rei's grasp. After having her glass poured, Misato took a sip and continued:

"An' you're just such a joy to be around, I mean it. I love seein' you both so happy t'gether, because y'both deserve it. You know, if I was that boy's mother, I'd be honored to have you as a daughter in law. I love ya both so much, an' I hope you're both happy fer years t'come."

At that point Misato was on the verge of tears, so she drained a large amount out of her glass to suppress her emotions. As she lowered her glass, however, she came face to face with a teary, blubbering Rei.

"Woah, hey - y'okay, kid?" Misato reached over to shake her shoulder, and Rei's hand came up to meet hers.

"I'm sorry, I'm being a mess all of a sudden... I've never heard anything like that before. Sorry, I love Shinji and I've been a bit appre... apperhen... aprerenhensive about you and Kaji n' everyone and I'm sorry... and I never really had a mother, or anyone to say things like that to me. It really means a lot to me to hear that, and... an'..."

Despite getting a bit loud, Misato didn't stop Rei from blubbering. Instead, she got up and sat next to her, and gave her a big, immersive hug.

"I love being a part of your little family, Mish... Misahto!"

"S'alright, we love ya, Rei."

The pair stayed embraced until Shinji and Kaji re-entered the bar, a few minutes later.

* * *

As the pair stumbled out of the bar, Kaji made a beeline for the side alley. Breaking free of Shinji's grip, he went to stumble into the alley - and ended up face down on the sidewalk instead. Quickly turning his head to the side, he vomited into the gutter.

Shinji quickly helped him up, grabbing his arm to put around his shoulders. Kaji broke away as Shinji had his hand, swinging from Shinji's grip and managing to fly into the alley. He propped himself up with his hands, and vomited again behind a bag of trash.

He began dragging himself further up the alley, putting his right hand in the puddle of vomit that he'd just made, and came to a rest behind the bar's main wastebin. It's here that he stayed as he emptied the contents of his stomach - dinner, onion rings and a copious amount of beer. Shinji stood nearby, watching for any signs of struggle.

Once Kaji was done, Shinji helped him up - only for Kaji to swing off again and smack into a wall back-first. With his legs out in front of him, Kaji leant against the wall and slid down until he was sitting on the ground.

"Shinji... We're not going anywhere."

"Yeah, I'm trying t' fix that," Shinji said as he tried to pick up Kaji again. Kaji swatted his hand away.

"NnnnnNNNO, Me and Misato! We're not gonna last!" Kaji hit the ground with the bottom of his fist, making a dull thud.

"Come on, she's inside, Kaji." Shinji stumbled over his own feet for a sec. "We've gotta get back in."

"Just listen for a second, damnit!" Kaji yelled a bit too harshly, and Shinji went quiet.

"...Alright, I'll listen."

Kaji looked up at Shinji's face - he'd gone serious, with his brow furrowed slightly and his jaw steady. He was seething.

"Ah, godfuckit..."

"No, I'll listen. Just tell me, Kaji."

The whole situation pissed him off, but Kaji didn't have much else of a choice. Slowly, he began to speak.

"...We dun enjoy each other's company very much. we're just convenient for each other, but we don't usually enjoy each other personally."

"That's a shame, but I don't wanna hear 'bout your sex life, man..."

"It's not that, Shinji." Kaji's voice carried a sense of resignment to it. "We have fun, but we can't stand each other as people. Put us in a cage and we'd kill each other."

It took Shinji a moment to respond.

"...So you don't love each other?"

"I dunno any more, Shinji. I just don't know." Kaji's hands fell to his sides.

The pair waited for a few moments - Shinji taking a seat next to Kaji.

"...Shinji, how do you and Rei get along so well?"

Caught off a bit by the sudden question, Shinji pieced together whatever answer he could make.

"I dunno. We just... really like each other. We help each other, and stay togevver when we need each other. We just... do."

Kaji looked straight ahead at the wall.

"What does that mean for us, though?"

Shinji put a hand on his shoulder.

"Kaji, I'm drunk right now. And not really a relationship expert. But that's something you need to discuss with Misato. Not now, prolly not even tonight, but you need to talk this out as a couple."

"...Fair enough. I'll keep that in mind, Shinji."

They sat for a few more seconds, before Kaji tried to get up. He fell to the side - right on top of Shinji.

"Giddoff me y' bastard!" Shinji yelled as he pushed Kaji off of him.

"Sorry, my bad." Kaji rolled onto his back. Shinji stood up soon, and gave Kaji a hand up.

"C'mon, we've been out here long enough." Shinji began helping Kaji along to the entrance of the bar.

* * *

The boys came in and sat down opposite Misato and Rei, Kaji choosing to lie over the table. His tie had a few spots of vomit, but his shirt was pretty clean - just a small patch on his right sleeve.

"I think'm ready to go home." Kaji slurred, face-down.

"Hold on, we'll finish the pitcher." Misato said. Rei swayed to the side for a moment, but she raised her empty glass in agreeance with Misato. Shinji took up his glass as well, but Kaji decided to stay face-down.

20 minutes later, the pitcher was gone and the couples got up to go home. Only to find that out of all of them, only Shinji could walk straight - Misato's legs buckled under her as soon as she put weight on them, as did Rei's. Shinji called Misato and Kaji a cab, and put Rei's arm over his shoulder for a walk up to the convenience store.

Outside as the cab rolled up, the group said their goodbyes. Rei and Misato hugged, Shinji and Kaji shook hands and there were hugs all round. As the tail-lights of the cab grew smaller and smaller, Shinji led Rei up towards the nearest store.

"Sho, how bad was Mr. Kaji?" Rei's slur was a bit more pronounced, but still manageable.

"Pretty bad. Not too bad vomit-wise, but he was pretty bad." Shinji leant to the side suddenly, but regained his footing.

"Hmm?"

Shinji sighed. "He doesn't know if he loves Misato any more. Apparently it's a mutual thing."

Rei gasped. "No, they're Misato and Kaji! They can't split up!"

"I dunno if they're gonna split up." Shinji pulled Rei's arm further across his shoulder. "He wanted to know how we got along, and I told him to talk about it with Misato."

"I don't like the sound of that." Rei pouted, as she stopped. Putting her hands on his shoulders, she jumped up and Shinji put his hands under her legs - hopefully sober enough to give her a piggy-back ride.

"Thank yooooou~" Rei sighed as she buried her face into the back of Shinji's shirt.

They moved in silence for a few minutes.

"So, what did you and Misato talk about when we were gone?"

Rei gasped softly. "Oh my goodness, Shinji, it was the best. She said that she'd be honored to have me as a daughter in law, and I called her Misato for the first time."

Shinji gasped a bit himself. "That's actually really nice. I'd've loved to have seen that."

They continued along, Rei's head resting face-first on the back of Shinji's neck.

"You shmell nishe."

"Thank you." Shinji lifted her up a bit, as they turned a corner towards a 24-hour convenience store. Once they were outside, Shinji put Rei down on a bench just out the front and went in.

He came out soon with 2 ice creams and some hot food. Sitting next to each other, they divided up the hot food and gave each other licks of their ice creams.

"So... best night ever?" Shinji was resting his head on Rei's shoulder.

"We've had a few good nights, but this one was pretty good." Rei bit into her ice cream cone, and began eating it ravenously.

"And Misato didn't even get into major trouble tonight - that was nice."

"Mmm." With her ice cream gone, Rei grabbed a steamed bun and split it. She ate her half quickly.

"Post-drink munchies?" Shinji lightly brushed the side of Rei's neck with his nose. She nodded.

Sitting up, Shinji grabbed some hot food to eat himself. Once they were done, Shinji called a cab to pick them up.

Once he hung up his cell phone, he turned towards Rei and took her hand softly. He looked into her eyes - his own shining under the influence of alcohol, but also trembling with a kind of fear.

"...Do you think we'll end up like Kaji and Misato?"

Rei was surprised by Shinji's sudden question.

"I... don't think I want to think that far ahead. A lifetime is a long time, and I don't know how we're going to feel in the future."

She squeezed Shinji's hand slightly.

"I'm frightened. I can't answer yes or no."

As tears began to well up in her eyes, Shinji pulled Rei towards him and hugged her. Bringing her head into his chest, he gently stroked the back of her head.

"I'm scared too. I want to be with you forever, but... it's just scary to think that one day, we might not want that any more."

Rei whimpered slightly, and hit Shinji's back softly.

"Why'd you have to get all depressing all of a sudden? I'm a mess now."

"I'm sorry." Shinji bent down and kissed her head. "This isn't how I hoped the night would end."

Their mood dampened, the pair stayed embraced until their cab arrived to pick them up.

* * *

"Ahahaha! WHOOO!"

A battered and drunk Kaji opened the door to his apartment, dragging a deliriously drunk Misato behind him. Rather than take the longer trip to Misato's place and have to get up a flight of stairs, or through the hallways of her rich neighbours, Kaji had gotten Misato to crash at his closer, bottom-floor apartment for the night.

He had a couch and a double bed, but not much else besides a few plain, self-assembled pieces of furniture - one such piece of furniture soon being displaced by a stumbling Misato. Kaji's flimsy coffee table soon ended up on the other side of the room as Misato made a crash-landing on his carpet.

"Hold on a sec, I'mma get you a bucket." Kaji slowly made his way to his kitchen sink and retrieved a bucket, and placed it next to Misato's head.

"Murrrrr..."

Misato half-heartedly swatted at the bucket, but otherwise didn't object. Refusing to pause, Kaji managed to fill up 2 tall glasses of water, drinking his over the sink.

"M'sato, I need you t' drink a bit of water for me."

He was soon on his hands and knees, carrying Misato's glass in his hand. Gently, he lifted Misato's head onto his lap, and supported her upper back as he brought the glass to her lips.

She gurgled the first sip of water, and it spilled onto herself and Kaji's carpet. The second sip was more successful, and she began drinking steadily from the glass until it was empty.

After a few seconds, there was a loud gurgle - and Misato hurled her stomach up towards the bucket. A fair bit of vomit hit the side of the bucket and splashed back onto her and Kaji, along with Kaji's carpet, but a majority of her vomit hit the intended mark and stayed in. Clamoring for the bucket, she rested back on Kaji's body and placed her head at its entrance.

Sighing in resignation and irritation, Kaji held Misato as her body violently ejected the night's worth of drinks and food. After what seemed like forever, Misato began to dry-heave and breathe lighter. After sitting her down sideways, Kaji crawled to the kitchen and grabbed some paper towels as well as another glass of water. He quickly returned to her side and wiped her face, giving her the other glass of water to wash the foul taste out of her mouth.

After she had sufficiently recovered, Misato rolled onto her back. Kaji quickly rolled her back onto her side, kneeling behind her to hold her steady.

"Kaaaaaaajiiiiii..."

"I'm here, you're good." Kaji stroked her hair, on the verge of collapse.

"NNNNNO, 'm not gurd." Misato writhed for a moment, settling in what looked like a very uncomfortable position. "I feel AWFUL."

"You'll feel better soon, you've just got to try n' sleep."

"No, 'm alright phurseckally. I feel bad 'nside, 'bout us." Misato leaned back to grab Kaji's arm, but ended up falling into his lap. Kaji helped shift her lower body - her torso had twisted around on its own.

"What're you talking about?"

Misato grasped the sleeve of his shirt. "We dun' get along any more. We're never happy w' each other any more."

Kaji lowered his face to Misato's ear.

"...I know. 'S a big prollem, and I wanna talk about it."

Misato jerked her head up suddenly, smashing into Kaji's nose. He fell back as his nose began to bleed.

"Y'WHAT?!"

Grabbing a spare paper towel he'd grabbed earlier, Kaji covered his gushing nose.

"Ow, God-DAMNIT!"

Misato propped herself up on Kaji's couch.

"Whad'y'mean "I know"?!"

"It means "I see where y' coming from"! I feel t' same way, and I wanna talk about it!" The pair's voices rose, as Kaji's nose began to bleed through the tissue he was using.

"So you've thought it all th' time we've been havin' a hard time, and y' never brought it up?" Misato's voice began to take on a venomous edge, ready for a fight.

Kaji shook his head. "No, 's just been recently. I didn't know how't bring it up with you."

"So what, tonight was a chore f' you?!" Misato was approaching hysterics, her alcohol consumption running rampant with her emotions.

"No, M'sato! I love you an' I wanna make this work!" Kaji punched the floor, his tissue discarded and his nose running free. "I'm jus' so damn ANGRY b'cause I can't do a thing!"

"Do you, thought?!"

The pair's tension reached a breaking point, and they fought for the next few hours. A bit of thrown furniture, a constant barrage of baseless accusations - the argument lasted well into the night.

It was at 3 AM that the pair eventually stopped shouting, their energy sources depleted. Mapping out their own areas, they both crashed on the floor - far away from each other, physically and emotionally.

The next morning at 7 AM, Misato woke up with a headache - not as severe as it could have been, but still enough to be a major inconvenience. Seeing Kaji asleep on the floor across the room, she remembered the argument they'd had before passing out.

Grabbing a pen and paper, she scribbled a note for him. Quietly taking her belongings, Misato took a deep breath and stepped outside into a surprisingly harsh Spring morning.

**AN: So, I decided to bring this relationship to a head after all. And so early in the story, too. Well, Shinji and Rei will have their issues eventually - not soon, but eventually - so right now I'm just going to have to write along this line of thought as well as I can.**

**I apologize for the excessive over-description of the group's drinking habits. I just felt like writing about drinking, and that got me to write the chapter. The 4 characters represent 4 different kinds of drunk that I know of - I'm most like Shinji, my friend's most like Kaji, Rei's the kind of drunk I wish I could be and so is Misato. I tried to base the drunk talk off of my own drunken speech and that of my friends, but it reads a bit like the characters getting Southern accents. Sorry if that's bothersome.**

**Anyway - next chapter is a flashback. The focus? Shinji and Rei, of course. It'll be a full-on installment too - maybe not as long as this one (Jesus freaking Christ), but it'll be pretty solid. Until then, see you around.**

**PS: Chapter 2 has been edited. Chapters 1 through 5 will be next, and hopefully up with the next chapter.**


	9. Chapter 9

Once they got home, Rei walked over to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. The question Shinji had blurted out had unintentionally caused a small crisis to unfold between the pair, and rather than go to bed shaken they'd decided to stay up for a bit and talk it out.

Over the course of four hours, the couple had a deep, unpleasant discussion about each other and their future. Fuelled by alcohol and exhausted from their long night out, both of them were tired and snappy – voices were raised and feelings were hurt, and nothing had been resolved by the time they decided to call it a night.

As the pair lifelessly undressed and got into bed, the first rays of sunlight began to rise over the horizon. Shielding his eyes from the rapidly lightening morning sky, Shinji turned towards Rei and settled in to sleep. Greeted by her pale back, Shinji knew that she was still upset.

And all he could think was "It's my fault."

* * *

"You what?!"

Shinji stood and stared at his father. The words that had come out of the older man's mouth were unfeeling and unexpected, and Shinji felt like he'd been backed into a corner.

"I said I've enrolled you in a starter school, to prepare you for work at NERV."

Though Gendo had seemed kind earlier, his voice and stature were now ice-cold. Staring at Shinji, he waited for an answer.

_So… he didn't want me around after all. He wants to put me in a school and have me take after him._

"…Why? Why now, after 15 years? Do you even know if I'm good at math?"

Gendo furrowed his brow. "I know about your grades – you get by with decent marks. That's all you need."

A wave of desperation and nausea washed over Shinji. Gendo continued:

"As for why now… you're my son, Shinji. I want to get to know you better. I've neglected you in the past, but now I have the time and focus to—"

"NO!" Shinji cut Gendo off with a loud rejection. Bristling with rage, Shinji had dug his fingernails into his palm – to the point where he was beginning to break the skin.

The older man was taken aback, and with the lull in conversation Shinji began to babble.

"You think… now that it's convenient for you, you can bring me into your life? Do you realize how unfair that is to me?! I could have used you when I was a child – I made a life there, and now I'm here at your request because you decided that you have the time for me! How selfish is that?!"

An awkward silence settled over the pair – Shinji mortified over his sudden outburst, and Gendo sinking into an arm-chair, deep in thought.

After a minute of silence, Gendo softly spoke up.

"…Shinji. Do you want to return to your home?"

His earlier confidence gone, Shinji's voice shook with fear and sadness.

"I can't. Everything I have is being shipped here now, it'd be unfair on Auntie and Uncle to unpack everything again. I-I can't go home."

_I can't go home._ The thought made Shinji feel sick.

Gendo sighed.

"…I have a room set up for you, if you'd like to use it. It's late – we should both get some sleep."

Heavy with anger and grief, Shinji turned towards the hallway without saying another word. Inspecting each door, he came across one with a sign hanging from the door handle.

Shinji's Room.

Breathing in sharply, Shinji opened the door.

Inside, there was a king-sized bed and a decently sized writing desk. A bookshelf in the corner held a variety of books – popular shonen manga, classic literature, books on economics. There was also a small table in the center of the room.

Everything looked brand-new – and expensive. Overcome with a pang of guilt, Shinji looked over to the desk. Something was lying on top of it.

Upon closer inspection, Shinji realized that it was a top-of-the-line cell phone.

Next to it sat a letter addressed to him, hand-written on expensive looking stationary. Delicately, Shinji opened the letter and began to read.

* * *

Shinji.

First of all, thank you for coming to Tokyo-3. It must have been a hard step, leaving your childhood home to live with someone you've barely met. I'm aware that it's all so sudden – I'm sorry.

There are reasons for my absence in your life. I don't know if I can adequately discuss them at the moment – they are difficult for me, both to feel and to describe. If you like, we can sit down and discuss them some time. As convenient as it would be to write down for you, they are words that should be spoken.

Most of all, I want you to know that I am very sorry for not being there for you. I earnestly wish that I had been there for you as a child – now you've grown so much, and I don't know if I'm too late to meet you. I hope not.

I may seem like a cold man, Shinji, but I really do love you. I want to get to know you, and I want to give you a happy life. Please, accept this gift – you could use it when you begin school.

Kind regards

Dad

* * *

The anger Shinji felt towards his father was soon challenged by an overwhelming sense of guilt and happiness. The conflicting emotions were too much for him to bear, and he sank to the floor in tears.

…_How am I meant to feel right now?_

Shinji clutched the letter in his hands, and re-read every line repeatedly. All it did was make him doubt himself more, swinging between guilt and anger at his father.

He went to put the letter in his pocket – and found a scrap of paper.

Misato's phone number.

"_If you __need someone to talk to, you can give me a call._"

His tears slowing, he reached up and grasped the phone given to him by his father. Dialing the number, Shinji nervously brought the phone to his ear as Misato's phone began ringing.

After a long few seconds, Misato picked up.

"Hmm? Who's this?"

She sounded groggy and irritated. Looking at the time, Shinji realized that it was nearly midnight.

"O-oh, I'm sorry… I didn't realize it was so late. This is Shinji."

"Oh, it's 'right. How're you doing?"

Shinji sat up against the side of his bed, drawing his knees close to him.

"...It sounds like I woke you up. I'm sorry."

"Nah, it's fine." Trying her best to sound chipper and awake, Shinji could hear the sleep in Misato's voice.

"Well… my dad came home. And he seemed really nice – he cooked dinner, he spoke to me really nicely…"

Shinji told her about the evening he'd had – his father's warm reception, the sudden revelation and change of mood, and the things he'd already bought for his room. Though Misato offered words of encouragement, Shinji's mood didn't improve as he explained how he felt about the situation.

"…He enrolled me into a NERV school, Misato. He brought me over so I'd join NERV. He didn't even see if that's what I wanted – he just judged me by my grades."

"Shinji… listen, he just wants to have you nearby. Enrolling you in a NERV school was probably just less paperwork for him – they don't just teach economic stuff, they try and fit in a full curriculum—"

"No, he said that he wanted me to join NERV." Exhausted, Shinji could barely sound angry as he interrupted Misato. "He enrolled me based on my grades, and didn't think about if I wanted to follow him into tax work. He said it himself."

He sighed, the late hour and powerful wave of emotions taking their toll on him.

"I just… feel so used."

Misato's end went quiet for a moment. Worried by the silence, Shinji spoke again.

"…But when I went to my room, he… bought me so many nice things. He bought me a really nice cell phone. Misato, is… is it wrong to reject him? He's already done so much for me… is it wrong to throw it back in his face?"

"Shinji…"

Misato took a slow, deep breath.

"...If you feel bad about your father doing all that, then I can't tell you any different. Your emotions are valid because you feel them, and I can't say anything to say that you're wrong about this. But I think he's really trying to connect with you – it'd be worth a shot to hear him out and spend some time with him."

Shinji took a few seconds to process what Misato had just told him. Quietly, he responded:

"…If all my feelings are valid, then how do I pick between feeling happy or sad?"

"To be honest, Shinji—" Misato stifled a yawn, and shifted in her bed, "I don't know. You're going to have to figure it out by yourself."

Shinji was at a loss for words, but offered a quiet "Okay" in response.

Tired and at the end of their conversation, both Shinji and Misato said goodbye. But as Shinji went to hang up the phone, Misato caught his attention again.

"Look, uhh… this is kind of a dumb thing to say, but I wanna state it now so that you don't forget."

"Yeah?"

"Don't be a stranger, alright? You seem like the kinda person who gets all hung up on calling other people, so I'm telling you now – I'll be around if you need to speak to someone. Don't get all nervous about giving me a call if you need to talk, even if it's past 12:30 on a work night."

Looking at his watch, Shinji realized that it was 12:43.

"Sor—"

"No, no apologies!" Misato's sudden enthusiasm caught Shinji off-guard, and he jumped. "If you need to call me, then call me! Understood?"

"Y-yes, Miss Katsuragi!"

Misato sighed an exaggerated sigh.

"Just call me Misato, alright? "Miss Katsuragi" makes me feel old!"

"Yes, I understand!" Shinji bowed formally – realizing that he was on the phone after he'd done it.

"Alright, that's settled!" Misato let out a loud yawn.

Shinji himself felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him.

"I-I'm going to hang up now, if that's okay."

"Alright, then. It was nice speaking to you, Shinji~" Misato blew a kiss through the phone.

"Good night, Miss—Misato."

"Aaaahh, you nearly slipped up~" Misato gave a slightly mocking giggle through the phone. On that note, Shinji hung up.

_She couldn't help me with my emotions, but I still feel so much better after talking to her._

_I… I think I like her._

Thousands of thoughts flooded through Shinji's head as he climbed into bed. Misato. His new life in Tokyo-3. His father.

Nothing made any sense to him, and he fell asleep in a confused, exhausted daze.

* * *

The next morning, Gendo was passing by Shinji's room on his way to the bathroom. A slip of paper caught his eye – it was sticking out from under Shinji's door, and it was addressed to him.

_A letter…?_

Gendo picked it up. It was indeed a letter, a fair bit rougher than the one he'd written to his son. Shinji's handwriting was a bit sloppy, and the paper he had used was wrinkled and unkempt.

Regardless, Gendo took it with him into the kitchen and began to read it.

* * *

Dad

You were honest with me, so I'll be honest with you. I don't know how to feel about all this. You know how long you've been absent from my life – that's had a big impact on how I see you, and how I've grown up. Coming to a strange city, just to be told that you brought me over to follow you in your career… It really hurt.

I called a friend of mine last night. They helped me try to understand your reasoning. I can at least understand where you're coming from, but at the same time I'm still a bit caught on why you brought me over. I never really wanted to be a tax worker – so you saw that I had good grades and deemed me worthy of succeeding you? That's a bit unfair.

…That's not really fair on you. That's putting words in your mouth. It feels like that's what you're doing, but I can't say exactly what your goals are without being presumptuous. And after all, you did say you wanted to spend time with me now that you have the chance – I'm sorry.

For what it's worth, I do believe what you wrote in your letter. Honestly, thank you for taking the time to write it, and make your intent as clear as possibly to me. I'm caught between feeling a bit betrayed about being brought here to join NERV and feeling happy at finally being a family – it's incredibly confusing, and I don't know how to feel exactly.

I can't say that this situation is great, because while you've already done something incredibly nice with stocking my room, I'm not following your reason for bringing me over. I'm very confused, and I'm still kind of hurt. I'm willing to give this a try, but… I think we're on shaky ground right now.

I'm sorry, but that's just how I'm feeling at the moment.

For better or for worse,

Your Son, Shinji

* * *

Gendo folded the letter and laid it gently on the table in front of him. Then, heaving a large sigh, he put his head in his hands.

"…I made a mistake."

**AN: Merry Christmas and a happy new year, y'all! I'm a bit late with this chapter, I know – I had it roughly completed by New Years, but I felt that it needed more work. I think the extra time helped a little with its quality, which is great.**

**I decided to split this flashback into three chapters. Basically, it's because I feel like the bases I'm covering work better as separate chapters. They cover three particular scenarios – from Shinji meeting his father, to Shinji meeting Rei and falling in love with her. Rather than cram them into a 7,000 word epic, I feel like it's better to separate them and write them as the individual scenarios they are.**

**I know I said this flashback would focus exclusively on Shinji and Rei, but I ended up running with a different idea. I am getting to it – the conclusion to this extended flashback will have sweet Shinji/Rei goodness, as well as explain a couple of things about Rei and establish their connection. Why is Rei's hair blue, for one? Initially it was "because it is" – now it has a reason. Stay tuned – hopefully it won't be on the same level as Star Wars' "midichlorians" explanation.**

**One more thing – I'm thinking of making a Tumblr for this fanfic, just a place for me to talk about it. I have trouble finding the motivation to write, but I actually really like this story. It's probably the second best thing I've ever written, and I want to expand to somewhere where I can talk about the story and discuss how each chapter's going. I'll link it in the next chapter.**

**All I have left to write after this monumental Author's Note? I will see you all around in the new year, and thank you for reading!**


	10. Chapter 10

15 July, 2015

Shinji woke up to the sound of his bedroom door closing. Sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he looked around his room. Something on his desk caught his eye.

Another letter.

He stood up to retrieve it, and flopped back onto his bed as he began to read.

* * *

Shinji

I'm sorry for everything. Really, I am.

The paperwork for your new school has already gone through, so I can't take you out. I'm sorry, but you're going to have to attend for a while before you can be transferred. I honestly wasn't thinking of you when I made these arrangements – it must hurt to hear me say that, but I honestly regret not taking your wishes into consideration.

As much as I would like to see you come into my own line of work, it really isn't my place to decide. I haven't been a part of your life for years, after all – my wishes shouldn't have a bearing on your own life.

I will at least say that NERV's line of schools don't focus exclusively on economics and maths. There is an added focus, but they cover the standard classes any high school would – I have no doubt that your school experience would be more or less normal compared to any other high schooler.

However, if you honestly don't want to attend, I will allow for a transfer to another school within the school district. You're just going to have to attend this NERV specialty school for a semester – I know how long that is, but there's no way to cancel the paperwork.

I know how angry you must be, but there really is nothing I can do. All I can do is apologize for not discussing this with you sooner.

Thank you for laying your feelings out for me. To be honest, I find it much easier to speak clearly through writing. It's a bit embarrassing to admit, but I have a habit of mincing my words – it's easier to communicate through written word for me.

Hopefully we can learn to talk to each other.

Dad

* * *

Shinji put the letter down, his arms feeling like lead.

_I feel like going back to sleep._

He lay in bed for a few minutes, lost in thought. Growing restless as his mind refused to work properly, Shinji was soon distracted by his growling stomach.

_Oh, breakfast. That's right._

When he entered the kitchen, he noticed Gendo sitting at the kitchen table. It looked like he'd been waiting for Shinji to get up, as there were 2 plates of food laid out.

"Good morning, Shinji."

Despite leaving him that letter just a few minutes ago, Gendo's mannerisms and speech seemed quite cold and intimidating. Nervously, Shinji sat down across from him without making a sound.

Gently, Gendo spoke.

"Did you… read the letter I left for you?"

Making eye contact, Shinji shyly nodded. Gendo's expression didn't change, but he bowed his head slightly.

"…I'm not very good at communicating."

Shinji nodded.

"To be honest, neither am I."

Gendo nodded in turn. The pair sat in awkward silence for what seemed like an eternity.

Quietly breaking the silence, Shinji spoke up.

"…Would you have considered another school if we'd spoken before I moved here?"

Gendo picked at his plate of eggs uncomfortably.

"I don't know."

Shinji looked over at him in confusion. Looking up and seeing his stare, Gendo withdrew further and began mumbling.

"I just… didn't think. I might have still enrolled you, if you didn't mind."

As Shinji saw his usually intimidating father toy with his food uncomfortably, something clicked inside his mind.

_He's just as shy as I am._

Turning his attention to his own breakfast, Shinji ate in silence with his father. It was soon time for him to go to work, and though he resumed his usual cold demeanor, Shinji didn't mind.

* * *

"So, how are you both getting along?"

"Not too bad, actually. We've been going okay since we began writing to each other."

Shinji balanced a phone between his ear and shoulder as he packed a schoolbag with essential items. 2 weeks after moving to Tokyo-3, Shinji was finally starting at his new school in the morning – though he was still nervous and skeptical at the thought of joining a NERV school, the idea wasn't as awful as he'd initially thought.

Though he and his father still clashed on and off, their relationship had improved dramatically. Whenever they had anything important to say, they'd write the other one a letter. Though the arrangement was a bit awkward for both of them, both Shinji and Gendo felt more comfortable writing their words down and got along better as a result.

"I still think it's kinda weird that you write letters to each other, but it's good to hear that you're both getting along." Misato stretched on the other end of the line, letting an audible pop travel across and into Shinji's ear. He shuddered, and the phone fell from his ear.

Dropping what he was packing into his bag, Shinji scrambled for his phone. After seeing that no damage had been done to it, he scolded Misato in a huff.

"Misato, you know that weirds me out. Quit it!"

She giggled in response. "Sorry, that one was an accident."

Even after finding a way to get along better with his father, Shinji still rang Misato every couple of days. The two had struck up an odd friendship, with Shinji enjoying Misato's carefree and supportive attitude, and Misato enjoying Shinji's growing happiness and his reactions to her teasing.

Packing the last couple of things into his bag, Shinji spied the time – 10:30.

"Hey, it's getting a bit late. Is it okay if I say goodbye?"

"No, it's not okay." Misato's voice felt like lead, and froze Shinji in his place.

After a few long, uncomfortable seconds, Misato began laughing.

"I'm just kidding, yeesh! I have to work tomorrow anyway, it's fine!"

Shinji frowned as he said his goodbyes through Misato's laughter.

_She really has a mean sense of humor._

Hanging up, Shinji put his full schoolbag on the floor for the morning. As he cleaned some of the waste from his new school supplies off his desk, Gendo ducked his head into Shinji's room.

"It's getting late – you have school in the morning."

"Yeah, sorry. I was just getting my things ready for tomorrow." Shinji climbed into bed. Satisfied, Gendo gave a nod and turned Shinji's light off.

"Goodnight, Shinji."

"G'night, dad." Shinji settled into his blankets, and Gendo shut the door.

* * *

**AN: This is another filler chapter. I planned to make it a full chapter, but I haven't written much for over a month. It's a long story, but to make it as short as possible: I'm not happy with things in my life at the moment, and that's really digging into how motivated I am to write. I need a break, and instead of going silent for who-knows-how-long I thought it'd be best to give a general announcement. It helps that I'm stumped on how to continue this chapter, I guess.**

**Is a hiatus usually a death sentence for a fanfic? Usually, but not necessarily. Could this hiatus end up being a death sentence for this story? Maybe, but not necessarily. I still like the ideas I've got, I'm just really not interested in writing right now. I need to recharge my batteries and get back into the feel of writing. Who knows how long that will take?**

**I ended up making that Tumblr for this story though. I'll probably update it every now and again, and post something there when I'm doing a new chapter. The url is a-shared-existence {~dot~} tumblr {~dot~} com if you want to check it out – there's not many posts, but there is an in-depth "about" page.**

**Just to make things clear: this is not a cry for help, or a cry for attention. I'm not looking for extra reviews asking me to keep going or what have you - I'm doing this because I'm taking a break, and the people who've been reading should know instead of being left hanging. I'll see you all when I see you. There's an 85% chance that this is not goodbye – I just need a break. Stick around if you can.**


	11. Chapter 11

Shinji woke up with a gasp. The last few seconds of his dream flashed through his head.

"Urgh, another one…"

Sluggishly, Shinji sat up and rubbed his head. It felt like he'd been sleeping in an oven – his blankets were drenched in sweat, and he was boiling hot. He moved the covers off of his body, and the cool morning air shocked him into alertness. The alcohol still affecting his system made everything sway around him, and Shinji closed his eyes for a moment to compose himself.

Eventually sitting up, Shinji held his head in his hands. The few dreams about Shinji's past had been surprising - it wasn't often that he dreamed about his past, and the occurrence of 2 such dreams in as many weeks was a bit surprising.

_…Must be getting old, I guess._

Chuckling to himself, Shinji got up to begin his day.

After showering and brushing his teeth, he went out to the kitchen and began brewing coffee. While the coffee brewed, he set up the kitchen so he could prepare breakfast for himself and Rei.

As he turned the stove on, he spied Rei's bag on the counter top. The night before flashed into his mind.

_Oh no_.

His gaffe at the end of the night, and the resulting heart-to-heart with Rei about their relationship, flooded into his mind. Bits and pieces were missing, but the memories he had left made Shinji feel awful. There was no doubt that they would continue the discussion about their future when Rei woke up, and the idea filled Shinji with dread.

Turning the stove off, Shinji took a seat in the living room.

He thought of a way to diffuse the situation. When that failed, he sat in silence. After that, he turned on the TV for a bit. Every second he spent in silence made him feel worse, like his legs were made of lead and melting around his feet – but he couldn't think of anything to do, except watch TV.

When the morning program on TV ended, Shinji got up and turned the stove back on. He still felt awful, but the thought of eating breakfast was too good to pass up. Grabbing his ingredients, Shinji got to work cooking beef in one pan and an omelette in the other.

When that was done, Shinji got himself a decent serving and sat it down on the bench opposite the counter. Taking a bite of the beef, Shinji winced. It wasn't seasoned properly – he'd run out of garlic while he was cooking it.

Less than happy about the state of his meal, Shinji stood up and went to the fridge. There was a piece of paper stuck to the door with a magnet, and on the counter next to the fridge was a pen. Scribbling down "garlic" angrily, Shinji returned to his meal.

As he chewed through his food, the piece of paper kept Shinji's attention. It was like something in his head was trying to make a connection – like something was trying to connect with his rapidly fading dream.

As Shinji picked up a piece of omelette and began bringing it up to his mouth, something clicked.

A letter. He could get everything down in a letter.

Dropping his utensils, Shinji stood up. Grabbing the pen and piece of paper, he began to write furiously fast. Rei had already slept in for a significant amount of time that morning – there was no time to lose.

* * *

It wasn't too long before Rei did wake up. After showering and preparing for the day, she stepped into the kitchen.

Shinji was standing behind the counter, plating up some food for her. He placed it over onto the bench, next to a glass of juice and what looked like a folded piece of paper.

She went and sat down at the bench, inspecting the piece of paper. Opening it up, Rei was surprised to find a letter. The writing was small, scrambled and a bit messy, like it had been rushed through – there was no doubt that Shinji had written it.

She looked up at Shinji. He looked unusually serious – like something was worrying him. Taking a sip of juice, she began to read.

* * *

To Rei

It's been a while since I've written anything formally, and this idea came out of nowhere, so I'm sorry if this is all weird or stupid.

Last night we both drank a lot with Misato and Kaji, and I said something dumb which led to some hurt feelings and a long talk. It was pretty draining – I haven't slept for long, and everything I remember from last night is combining into this… gnawing worry about our future.

I wanted to get my feelings across as clearly as possible, so I'm writing you this letter.

Last night, I asked if we'd end up like Kaji and Misato. Thinking that far into the future… it's frightening, because there's no way we can actually see that far. It's never really set in stone – I didn't think I'd be working in economics as a teenager, but here I am going to work at NERV most mornings.

Seeing Kaji and Misato like they were put some worries in my head. I don't want to think about the possibility of us following a similar route, but… again, the future's so damn cloudy. I couldn't help but think "what if" at that moment, and I caused so much unnecessary hurt. I'm so sorry.

I love you more than I've loved anyone in my life. Honestly, the only future of ours I can hope for is a bright and happy one, where we're both around and doing well for ourselves and for each other. Cooking each other breakfast, cheering each other up, pushing each other to do our best. I couldn't wish for a better outcome than that.

I love you so much right now, and I haven't got any intention to stop. I want to be with you for every step in our journey, and I'd love to see our journey take years and years to complete. As long as I'm here with you, I want to keep living my life for you, making sure you're as happy as I am with the life we're living.

Some people naturally grow apart. After 7 years, I still love you as much as the moment I realized I was falling for you. Please forgive the following sentence if it seems "off" at all, but… I don't think I've spent enough time with you to even consider getting bored with our relationship. You're still such a wonderful presence in my life, and I just can't see that changing. And I think as long as I feel this way, and as long as you're still in love with me, we'll be alright.

I'm so sorry for the hurt my comment caused. I hope we can work past it.

Shinji

* * *

Rei looked up at Shinji with tears in her eyes. He looked pretty tired – clean and well-shaven, but he had faint dark marks under his eyes and his eyelids looked pretty heavy. He looked even more anxious than before, leaning over slightly as if waiting for a reply.

Turning the letter over, she wrote a few words on the back before passing it back to an anxious Shinji.

_I can barely even remember last night, but even if I did, I would have no doubt that you mean every word you said this morning. I love you too, more than I could ever describe in words._

It took a few moments for Shinji to register Rei's words, but a wave of relief washed over him. Tears welled up in his eyes as he caught himself on the kitchen counter, and Rei laughed nervously as he regained his composure.

Leaning across the counter between them, Rei put her arms around Shinji's neck. The pair quickly dissolved into tears as the tense situation they'd built up washed away.

"Oh God, I love you so much," Rei sobbed into Shinji's shoulder. Putting his arms around her shoulders, Shinji squeezed her tight as he whispered what he could to her through his own tears.

When the pair calmed down, it was already past noon. Grabbing some coffee for both of them, Shinji reclined against one end of the kitchen while Rei sat at the counter on the opposite side. Taking the opportunity to eat something, she picked up a piece of beef.

"...Umm, Shinji?"

"Yeah?" Looking up from his coffee, Shinji met her gaze.

Shyly, she spoke.

"…I don't want to sound picky, but I think you under-seasoned the beef a little bit."

**AN: Jesus Christ that was a shift and a half. I had a sudden change of heart – I wanted to put something out for Valentine's Day, so I crammed as hard as I could and threw this together.**

**I'm still thinking of having a break, of course, but this chapter fixes a large component of my writer's block – I'm not confined to the flashback any more. I'm a little more free, so if I feel up to it, I'll be able to start on a new plot thread when I feel like it. I'll write about this a bit more extensively on the story's Tumblr (a-shared-existence [-dot-] tumblr [-dot-] com) if you want to get the full lowdown.**

**This isn't a certified return to A Shared Existence – it's a surprise, last-minute gift for Valentine's Day. I put this together in roughly 3 hours, with minimal editing, so it may be a bit rough around the edges. I'm sorry if that's the case. Otherwise – happy Valentine's Day from myself and the lovebirds, and I'll see you guys around when I see you. I honestly appreciate your readership.**


	12. Chapter 12

_Sorry about the wait. AN at the bottom, as it tends to be._

* * *

After their eventful morning, Shinji and Rei chose to have a lazy day. Rei went to sit outside with a novel and a glass of juice, and Shinji laid down on the couch and turned on the TV.

The briskness of the morning soon gave way to a persistent, humid afternoon heat, and combined with the limited Sunday TV programming, Shinji soon found himself drifting into sleep. When Rei came back inside to refill her glass, he was well and truly asleep.

Putting her empty glass in the sink, Rei took a moment to watch Shinji. The few creases and wrinkles his face usually exhibited had disappeared, and the faintest of smiles had spread onto his face. The TV played an old war movie from the 60's, and Shinji's face twitched with the occasional loud noises coming from it.

Taking care not to disturb him, Rei got up and turned the TV down to a whisper. Satisfied with its volume, she took a seat on the couch next to Shinji's sleeping head.

_He looks so… peaceful._

Looking at his face, Rei couldn't believe how panicky he'd been just the night before. Their discussion seemed so ridiculous – just a bit of late night paranoia. But they'd both taken it so seriously.

Rei found it hard to believe that she'd felt any doubts about their future.

_Is this what he meant…?_

Slowly, Rei reached out to Shinji. Taking great care not to disturb him, she began softly stroking his hair. It was smooth – not slick or oily, but fine and soft.

A small breeze blew in from the porch, and Shinji's hair danced around her fingers. The sensation sent a tickle up her arm, and she shivered as the feeling travelled up her spine.

The shiver travelled back down her arm, and Rei's hand tapped Shinji on the face gently. Pulling back as if she'd touched a hot stove, Rei held her breath as Shinji inhaled sharply.

"Mmrgh…"

Shinji opened his eyes sluggishly. Noticing Rei sitting next to him, he smiled up at her.

"G'morning, there."

Her arm still retracted, Rei nodded. A look of bafflement and disappointment was plastered on her face, and upon seeing this Shinji laughed.

"Was I snoring too loud?" he chuckled as he stretched his arms, nudging Rei's leg with his head. Rei shook her head.

Shinji looked at her arm. He'd felt her tap his face, but there was a feeling before then. Like something blowing through his hair…

A devious grin spread over his face.

"…You didn't mean to wake me up, did you?"

Rei lowered her head and shook it.

"No."

Shinji's grin softened into a good-natured smile. Swinging himself into a sitting position on the couch, he put his arms around Rei and pulled her in for a hug.

"It's okay. You do tell me that I shouldn't sleep during the day, after all."

Rei smiled into his shirt.

"I was fine letting you sleep, just this once."

"Really, now?" Shinji pulled away from her, and looked into her eyes. The faintest blush finding its way onto her cheeks, Rei looked away.

"…You looked so peaceful. It made me feel really happy to see you like that, and I just wanted to watch you for a while."

For a moment, Shinji felt like the air had been sucked out of him. Hearing such a sweet, sentimental thing come from Rei made him feel amazing, but hearing her say something so corny tickled something inside of him at the same time. His smile grew into a goofy grin.

"Well, now who's been spending too much time with Kaji?"

Despite knowing he was just having a quick joke, Rei felt a bit hurt nontheless. Pushing him backwards slightly, she turned away from him with a huff.

Shinji caught himself easily, and stood up to stretch.

"I'm joking, sorry. I didn't mean to tease you too much."

Gently grabbing her arms, he got her to stand up with him. Wrapping her up in his arms, Shinji placed a few gentle kisses on her face.

"It was really nice to hear you say that. Thank you."

Taking the chance to poke him in the side, Rei nonetheless sunk into Shinji's embrace.

* * *

After stretching for a bit, Shinji stepped out onto the balcony. The air was surprisingly crisp for the time of year, and as he inhaled the coolish air into his lungs, a wave of refreshment washed over him.

As if on cue, Shinji's stomach grumbled loudly.

Taking a look at his watch, Shinji saw that it was 4 PM already.

_Well, it's too late for lunch…_

Stepping back inside, his attention was drawn to the coffee pot. It had just come off the boil, and Rei was in the kitchen pouring herself a cup.

Taking a mug, Shinji poured himself a cup as well before sitting at the bench. Rei leant back on the end of the sink, and the pair sipped their cups in silence. The warm coffee went down well in contrast to the cooler weather, and both Shinji and Rei made eyes at each other as they enjoyed the comfortable atmosphere.

As the pair locked eyes, Shinji's stomach decided to make its presence known, rumbling loudly. Rei smiled as Shinji's face went red from embarrassment.

"I guess we did skip lunch, after all," Rei mused to herself as she put her coffee cup down. "I'll make us both something to eat."

As Rei opened the fridge to grab some ingredients, something occurred to Shinji.

"Hey, Rei – do you want to go out for something to eat?"

Rei paused for a moment, with her head in the fridge.

"…We did go out just last night, but that sounds nice."

After closing the fridge, both Shinji and Rei went to straighten themselves out. Rather than get dressed up for a late lunch date, the pair decided to just wear what they'd been wearing all day – they were only going for a light meal, and they weren't going to go anywhere fancy.

After making himself look presentable, Shinji grabbed his half-empty cup of coffee as did Rei. Drinking the last of it, the pair got their things together and left the apartment.

As Shinji locked the door behind them, Rei spoke up.

"So, were you thinking about a restaurant?"

"Yeah, something like that," Shinji nodded. "Or somewhere small like a café. Just for a light snack or something."

They discussed locations as they descended the staircase of their apartment complex. By the time they got down to the car, they'd narrowed down their options to a handful of places.

"So we have Cuttlefish Station, Chow Palace and Carmelo's Pizza," Shinji reiterated as he got into the car. "What do you feel like eating?"

"Well, I'm not really in the mood for seafood, so Cuttlefish Station's out," Rei replied as she started the engine.

"Yeah, they don't have a lot of variety, do they?" Shinji put one of his fingers down. "How about Carmelo's?"

"Pizza sounds good, but I don't know if they're open on Sundays."

Shinji put another finger down.

"…I know it's the last place we've got, but I don't really want to go to Chow Palace," Shinji said in a pleading voice. "Their bread tastes like dry dog food."

"I don't think either of us were seriously thinking about eating there," Rei said with a smile as she stopped at a set of traffic lights. Disappointed, hungry and a bit confused, the pair sat in traffic wondering what they were going to do.

Looking out of his window, something on the sidewalk caught Shinji's eye.

"Hey Rei, how about that place?"

Looking over, Rei saw the place Shinji was talking about. The building was painted a light, airy blue, with a darker green painted around the entrance. The tables outside had large beach umbrellas, and the ground was clad with what looked like sandstone.

And in the window, a sign was lit up with colourful LEDs – The Seafoam Café.

Rei thought about it for a moment.

"…Wouldn't they just serve seafood?"

"I thought so too, but there's a menu over there." Shinji pointed to a blackboard near the store's entrance. It had a selection of seafood, but most of the menu was made up of tropical-themed meals and drinks.

As they both thought about it, someone beeped their horn behind them. The traffic light in front of them had turned green.

Giving each other a quick glance, the pair nodded.

"Seafoam Café it is."

* * *

As they entered the café, they noticed that the café's color scheme continued into the interior. Waves of green panted the bottom of the room, and clashed against the light blue which painted the upper walls and ceiling.

Taking a seat on the side, both Shinji and Rei picked up a menu. Like the menu outside showed, the café offered a variety of tropical-themed meals as well as different cocktails and mixed drinks.

Rei looked through the menu. A few of the dishes had chicken in them, but most were vegetarian – a majority of them were made up of fruit or salad, and a few dishes had fish or tofu in them.

Shinji's glance through the menu took his eyes straight to the house special: a burger with marinara sauce and a juicy fillet of chicken, topped off with a ring of fresh pineapple. He put his menu down as a waitress came over to take their order.

"Hello, welcome to the Seafoam Café! Can I take your order?"

Something about their waitress struck both Shinji and Rei as familiar. Her light, hazelnut-colored hair was tied back in twintails, and her tanned face was covered in a light sprinkling of freckles. Looking over at Rei, she seemed to have a moment of recognition of her own – but she looked down at her notepad and waited for their order without saying another word.

After placing their order, the pair sat back and had a look around. The walls looked like they'd been painted fairly recently, and the walls still gave off a faint smell of paint. The table they'd both chosen was near a window, which gave them a nice look over a nearby residential area. The place was well-lit – instead of artificial light, the café relied on several major skylights which lit the inside with natural lighting. There were lamps higher up on the wall, but none of them were on.

"They must have built this place recently," Shinji said absently. Rei nodded.

After a few more moments of looking around, Shinji lent over the table and whispered something to Rei.

"…Hey, did you recognize our waitress as well?"

Rei nodded. "She did seem familiar, yes."

Looking over at the counter, they could see her arranging glasses on a shelf.

"I'm pretty sure I never saw her at NERV, and she seemed to recognize you too." Shinji whispered. "This is kinda weird."

Rei nodded, and started looking through the menu again. She didn't seem too interested, but it kept weighing on Shinji's mind.

Regardless, he put it to the back of his mind and began striking up conversation with Rei.

"So, uhh… how has work been in your division?"

Not taking her eyes off the menu, Rei responded.

"It's been going okay. Asuka's the same as ever, and we're getting a new co-worker soon."

"A new co-worker? It's not every day NERV brings someone else in, especially up in that department."

Putting down her menu, Rei smiled a bit.

"I know, but she seems like an okay worker. I think Mr. Aoba said that she was recently out of college, so she probably has a good idea of what to do."

"I bet Asuka wasn't happy," Shinji smirked.

"She wasn't." Rei sighed as she reclined a bit in her chair. "She got a bit belligerent, and I had a stern word with her."

Shinji's face lit up.

"You told off Asuka?"

"I wouldn't say that." Rei glanced off to the side. Regardless, Shinji was rapt.

"Either way, I'm impressed that you managed to talk back to Asuka about anything."

Rei looked up at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, she's a bit of a violent person," Shinji said as his gaze dropped a bit. "If I ever spoke back to her, it feels like she'd try and slug me. I'm a bit scared of her, to be honest."

Seeing him retreat a bit as he thought about Asuka's wrath, Rei found her face relaxing into a warm smile. As the warm feeling spread throughout her body, she reached across and took Shinji's hand gently.

Shinji came back to reality, a bit surprised by Rei's actions.

"What are you doing, Rei?"

She met his gaze without saying a word. Gently raising his hand, she lent down and kissed the top of it.

The soft feeling of her lips making contact with his skin made Shinji's heart jump, and he blushed as she sat their hands back down.

"What was that for?"

Gazing into his eyes, Rei responded.

"…You are just really cute sometimes."

The unease between them melted away, and the atmosphere from the café seemed to lighten up. Upon closer inspection, it wasn't just Rei's warm words – the setting sun was beginning to shine through the café's windows.

Warm beams of light hit the scattered tables and chairs around the restaurant, stretching their shadows across the floor. Rich, orange sunlight washed over them, lighting up the few dust particles that were swirling in the air around them.

For a moment, Shinji felt lost. The shining dust particles and the orange light seemed to transform Rei into a completely different person. Her hair looked like it was bordering on purple, and her skin glowed a radiant golden colour. Looking into her red eyes, they seemed to shine with an intensity that he had never seen before. For a split second, it was like he'd fallen in love all over again.

Looking back at him, Rei was equally taken aback. Shinji's relaxed face shone with affection, and the sunlight high-lighted the few fine stress lines around his mouth. His sea-blue eyes sparkled as they moved slightly, taking in her features. She felt as if they were living inside a photograph – like time had stopped, and they were free to experience the moment for as long as they liked.

Squeezing her hand, Shinji barely spoke above a whisper.

"…I think our food's coming."

Rei looked over, and sure enough, their waitress was coming over with 2 plates of food. The heat of the moment hit her all at once, and she retracted her arm as fast as possible as her face went beet red.

* * *

As the sun sank further and further into the horizon, the light inside the café got dimmer. It wasn't too long before the wall-lamps were switched on.

Between servings, Rei and Shinji talked about work, home, the past – anything that came to mind. Eventually, the topic shifted towards their wedding.

"Have we thought about the cake yet?" Shinji asked as he took a bite of his burger.

"I don't think we have, actually," Rei replied as she poked at her tropical-themed salad. "Do you have any suggestions?"

Shinji thought about it for a moment. After swallowing his food, he replied.

"I don't think we should go too crazy, but I do like chocolate cake. But we should have another flavour just in case some of the guests don't like that."

Rei nodded in agreement.

"We should probably consider having a gluten-free choice as well. I think Mr. Aoba has a gluten allergy."

"That's a good idea," Shinji agreed as he took another bite of his burger.

The pair took a few moments to focus on their meals. The temperature inside the restaurant was dropping slowly, but due to either the lamps or the company of each other, the atmosphere still felt warm.

After a few solid bites, Shinji spoke up.

"Y'know, I'm thinking of maybe a late summer ceremony. It'd still be pretty warm, but the heat wouldn't be stifling."

Rei thought for a moment.

"…It would be nice to have the ceremony before it starts getting cold. And it would give us a few months to make the arrangements."

"That's what I was thinking," Shinji replied as he scraped some of his burger's loose ends together on his plate. "I mean, it's only March right now. That gives us until… the end of August?"

Bringing a fork of salad to her mouth, Rei nodded.

Taking the last bite of his meal, Shinji stretched his arms over the back of his chair. The slight chill in the air made itself known, and he shivered as he felt it for the first time that night.

As Rei finished the last of her salad, a bell sounded from the counter. Looking over at the source of the noise, they both saw that the bell was being rung by a young man around their age. With blondish hair and round spectacles, another strange feeling of nostalgia washed over the pair as he called out to them.

"Hey, we're closing up soon! Can ya finish up over there?"

Looking over at each other to confirm they were both done, the pair waved the man over. As he stacked their plates, he seemed to have the same nostalgic feeling about them. Looking over at Rei for the third time, something seemed to click – leading to him nearly dropping their dishes back onto their table.

"Well, if it isn't Rei Ayanami! It's been a while!"

Surprised by his statement, Rei gave the man a closer look. A similar look of recognition dawned on her face after a few seconds.

"Mr. Aida, I assume?"

"That's me!" Grinning from ear to ear, the man patted Shinji roughly on the shoulder.

_Mr Aida? Aida… wasn't that…?_

"…Kensuke Aida?"

"How've ya been, Shinji?" Kensuke offered his hand to him. Still surprised at the revelation, Shinji shook it.

"We've been alright, Mr. Aida. We just came in for a late lunch." As he he extended it, Rei took his hand and shook it gently.

Upon hearing that, Kensuke looked out the window.

"Looks more like you guys are having dinner, if you ask me."

Looking out at the darkened sky, Shinji nodded slowly.

"I… guess we are."

Taking a second to compose himself, Kensuke gathered up their dishes and took them back to the kitchen. Shinji and Rei were dumbstruck for a moment, before seeing Kensuke returning with their waitress from earlier.

"what'd I tell you, Hikari?" Kensuke grinned happily. "It's Shinji Ikari and Rei Ayanami, from high school!"

Taking a quick glance at Shinji, Hikari's face lit up.

"Well, this is a surprise! Welcome, both of you!"

"Hello, Ms. Horaki." With a soft smile on her face, Rei accepted a hug from her. Shinji offered his hand for a handshake, but Hikari hugged him anyway.

* * *

Pulling up a chair from a nearby table, Hikari sat down with them.

"So what brings you around to my café?"

"Well, we stayed at home today and had a rest," Rei began. As she was about to continue, Kensuke interrupted.

"You guys work at NERV, right?"

"Yes, we've been working there for the last few years," Rei confirmed. Seeing Kensuke nod to show his understanding, Rei continued.

"By the time we were both hungry, it was already late in the afternoon and neither of us felt like cooking. So we looked around for somewhere to eat and found this place."

"We were rattling off places to go," Shinji chimed in, "and this place looked like the best place to eat. If it helps any, you won over Carmelo's Pizza and Cuttlefish Station."

"That's fair enough," Kensuke smirked. "We only opened up a few days ago, and we haven't had the chance to get the word out yet."

Hikari nodded in agreement. "To be honest, I'm kinda surprised you found us at all. It's like no-one even knows that we're here."

"Anyway," Rei moved on, "how have you both been?"

"We've been alright," Kensuke grinned. "Well, I've been alright, anyway – I only saw Hikari a few weeks ago myself."

"Yeah, this business is a really sudden thing," Hikari continued. "I was setting up the café, and my cook bailed out on me. I happened to run into Kensuke down at the markets."

Kensuke nodded. "I'd been unemployed for a few months, so when Hikari mentioned the café, I asked if she had any job openings. Lucky for me that I did a couple months of work at Chow's Palace, so when she mentioned needing a cook, I pretty much had the job in the bag."

"And here we are," Hikari concluded, throwing open her arms. "The Seafoam Café."

Both Shinji and Rei were smiling from ear to ear.

"That's a really great story!" Shinji grinned as he shook Kensuke's hand happily. Both Kensuke and Hikari blushed at the attention.

Looking at her watch, Rei's eyes widened. She turned to Kensuke and Hikari.

"It's been good to see you both, but it's 7 PM. I think it might be time for us to go."

"That's okay, we're closing up anyway," Hikari smiled. Taking the bill out of her apron pocket, she handed it to Shinji and Rei. The pair glanced over it, and both reached for their wallets.

As they both threw a few bills in, Kensuke piped up.

"Payin' for your meals together, huh? I guess you guys are a couple now."

Shinji looked at Kensuke in confusion.

"We've been a couple since high school, y'know. Weren't you around when we started dating?"

Kensuke thought for a few seconds, and shook his head.

"I left that school pretty early, to be honest. I probably left before you both got together."

"Fair enough," Shinji shrugged.

"Yes, we're still a couple," Rei confirmed. "Actually, we're engaged now."

Hikari's mouth opened in surprise. Taking care not to scream, she nonetheless reacted enthusiastically to this news, holding her closed hands over her mouth and moving in place.

"You guys are engaged?! That's so wonderful!"

Shinji rubbed the back of his head, blushing with embarrassment. Rei's face shaded itself pink, but she nodded in response.

"Well, that's really something!" Kensuke patted Shinji on the back roughly. "Congratulations to you both!"

Shinji laughed nervously. "We've been engaged for a few months, but thank you."

Having paid the bill, Shinji and Rei passed it back to Hikari. As she took it back to the till, Kensuke began walking Shinji and Rei to the door.

"Man, I guess anything could happen after 7 years," Kensuke mused. "Sometimes I think back to my last weeks of high school and wonder where the time went."

Shinji hummed in agreement. "We're all getting older, but sometimes it feels like time's moving too fast."

Kensuke nodded. "Couldn't have said it better myself."

Hikari caught up as they group reached the door. As they said their goodbyes, she chimed in quickly.

"Feel free to come by any time, you two! It'd be great to see you around!"

Thanking them, Shinji and Rei walked towards their car as The Seafoam Café closed for the night. As soon as they both got in the car, Shinji spoke.

"It was nice running into them like that, wasn't it?"

"Yes," Rei agreed. "To be honest I don't remember them too well, but it's always nice to see a familiar face."

As they began driving back to their apartment, Shinji couldn't help but think about the future. Just last night, the thought had filled them both with dread – but having discussed their wedding earlier that night, the thought put Shinji at peace. But there were still questions that needed answers.

"I guess we're gonna have to decide on a wedding date, huh?"

Rei sighed.

"I guess so. We'll have to start looking at venues."

"Yeah." Still lost in thought, Shinji put his head back on the headrest.

_We're actually getting married. We keep talking about it, but it's actually starting to feel solid._

Shinji couldn't help but grin.

"So, August then?"

Rei glanced over at Shinji for a moment. He had a dopey grin on his face, like he was lost in a fantasy.

Smiling, Rei replied.

"August it is."

**AN: And so, Chapter 12 is finally complete. It only took me three months! If you think that was long, just wait until Chapter 13 sees the light of day – the Rebuild 3.33 dub will probably be out before then.**

**I jest, I jest. Honestly, I am so sorry for the wait. I only picked this chapter up again very recently – like in the last 3-4 days. I won't bore you with personal details down here, because that's what the devblog is for. You can find a link to the blog on my profile page, it has status updates and little ideas I have for the future of this story.**

**Quick note: I've posted updated versions of chapters 2, 3 and 4 - along with edited Author's notes. Just thought I'd let you all know. ****Thank you all for being so patient, and I hope Chapter 13 will find its way into existence in a far shorter timespan than this chapter.**


	13. Chapter 13

The harsh Sunday morning sun shone into Kaji's small apartment. Though he'd woken up a few minutes earlier, Kaji held his eyes shut and tried to go back to sleep. He knew Misato was still somewhere in his apartment, and after the fight they'd had, he didn't want to see her and risk bringing it up again.

With tightly-coiled carpet pressing into his face, Kaji laid still on his living room floor for what seemed like hours, praying for Misato to wake up and leave. It was half an hour after he woke up that he heard her shift a few metres away from him, and he waited patiently until she walked out the door.

After waiting for a few more minutes to make sure she wasn't coming back, Kaji sat up and crossed his legs. Holding his face in his hands, he realized that the carpet had left an indentation on the entire right side of his face.

Eventually, he stood up. His legs shook as the world swayed around him, but he managed to power through the dizziness to get to the bathroom. Grabbing a glass he kept on the sink, he filled it with water and gargled to get the taste of stale alcohol out of his mouth. After a few gargles and swishes, he spit the water out and took a seat on his toilet.

Rubbing his numb face, one thought floated through Kaji's mind.

…_Jesus, I've had some hangovers, but this one takes the cake._

Taking some time to get used to his surroundings, Kaji soon stood up again and went back over to the sink. Leaning forward over the basin, he looked up at the mirror and gave himself a quick once-over.

His nose was encrusted with blood, as was the stubble around his mouth.

_Man, if I look this bad, I'm not looking forward to seeing the floor._

Running some cold water, he wet a face-cloth and began wiping the dried blood off his face. After making sure he looked presentable, he made his way to the kitchen. Grabbing a clean glass, he poured some water from the tap and gulped it down.

It was after he put the cup down that he saw Misato's note. He didn't remember her stopping on her way out, but looking at the sheet of paper, he couldn't draw any other connection. Pausing for a moment to steady himself, Kaji picked up the letter and began reading it.

* * *

Kaji

We said a lot of things last night, and I don't think we can blame all of them on the alcohol.

We need to talk. If not tonight, then some time tomorrow – without the kids knowing.

Misato

* * *

…_Crap._

Pouring another glass of water, Kaji drank it as quickly as the first one. Putting the cup down, he went back to the lounge room and surveyed the damage.

His cheap coffee table was on the other side of the room, with one leg bent diagonally. The floor had a trail of vomit splashed across it, leading to a grotty bucket which was full of the stuff, as well as a large patch of dried blood in the spot where he'd been sleeping. His couch was shifted slightly, and a small end-table had been up-ended away from the couch.

Kaji panicked as soon as he saw the end-table. Rushing over to it, he saw that one of the legs had come off completely and another had splintered about halfway down. The table had been holding a calendar and a picture of himself and Misato, which were now lying on the floor.

The end-table had been the one decent piece of furniture in his apartment, being a hand-me-down from his parents, and seeing it broken make Kaji furious. With an angry yell, he kicked the side of his couch – putting a hole in the cheap faux-leather.

The outburst threw Kaji off-balance, and he fell backwards onto the floor. Covering his eyes from the sun, he let out a low sigh.

"…Shouldn't have even bothered with her in the first place."

The residual alcohol in his system, as well as the warmness of the sun and his lack of sleep, soon led Kaji into a small nap.

* * *

He slept for about an hour, only waking up when the morning sun moved off of him. After waking up shivering, Kaji sluggishly crawled over to his couch where the sun had moved to.

The hole in the side tore itself wider the moment that Kaji sat down.

Cursing at himself, Kaji got up and went for a shower instead.

After towelling off and finding himself a clean set of clothes, Kaji stepped outside. His eyes stung as the sun shone off the pavement, and his head ached at the sudden abundance of light. Squeezing his eyes shut and then opening them slowly, Kaji began walking.

He hadn't really thought of anywhere to go when he'd left, so Kaji wandered around for a while. He stopped at a small café which had recently opened near his apartment - the place was tropical-themed and mostly had sweet food and drinks, but they made a pretty decent black coffee. After getting his order, he resumed walking.

Kaji soon found himself on an unfamiliar street. The coffee in his hand barely affected the fuzzy feeling in Kaji's head, and the longer Kaji walked, the more irritable he got.

He knew that he wasn't making sense, but Kaji walked on in an effort to lose his bad mood. But it seemed like the further he walked, the worse he'd get – when he stopped to throw away his coffee cup, he'd crumpled the thick cardboard into a tightly packed ball.

With his mood failing to improve, Kaji opened his phone and started to dial Misato's number. As the phone rang, Kaji kept walking - until he felt himself make a familiar turn. His long, angry strides began to shorten as he approached a destination he recognized.

He was outside a familiar convenience store located a few minutes away from his apartment. The place wasn't big, with barely any walking space between the front of the counter and the shelves of purchasable junk, but they were open 24 hours, served hot food and had staff who Kaji knew well.

Kaji had stopped visiting the place when he'd started dating Misato. There had been times when he spent more time at the store than with Misato, and eventually she issued an ultimatum – the store or her. Without so much as a goodbye, Kaji hadn't been back since then. But with their relationship in shambles, he saw the store with a welcome sense of nostalgia.

"_…Kaji?_"

Snapping back to reality, Kaji realized that Misato had picked up and was calling his name.

"…Sorry, wrong number."

"_Wai—_"

Gritting his teeth slightly, Kaji hung up. Putting his phone away, he reached for the door handle.

* * *

"Well, hello there."

The man Kaji found inside was someone he recognized. About a decade younger than himself, the man had a deep tan and a sharp look in his eye. His jet-black hair was fairly short, and spiked up at the front. He fiddled with a strange toy in his hands, something bright and tacky like a cheap keychain.

Kaji nodded at him as he walked in.

"How've you been, Toji?"

"Me? I've been fine, like always." Toji smirked. "I've been working here, like always. Haven't had time for anything else to change."

"Fair enough, work's been eating me alive too." Making himself comfortable, Kaji lent against the counter.

Seeming to relax a bit, Toji squeezed the toy in his hands, letting out a sound like bubble wrap being popped.

"Heh, yeah. I guess it doesn't matter what you do – work just ends up eating your spare time."

"You're not wrong, kid." Kaji smiled. "And it just gets worse the older you get."

"I assumed as much, old man. It looks like you haven't slept for weeks."

Kaji looked away as Toji snickered, looking for a mirrored surface to check himself in. He found one near a small rack of sunglasses.

…_I really do look like shit._

Going back to the counter, Kaji turned around and pulled an iced coffee out of a small drink fridge.

"Long night?" Toji asked as he scanned it through.

"Yeah, tell me about it. Work had me up all night."

Though they hadn't spoken for a while, Toji seemed to pick up on Kaji's lie pretty fast. He moved the toy in his hands, and looked up at Kaji with a hint of smugness in his grin.

"You must have been swamped, yesterday was Sunday. You never used to be too busy on Sunday."

Kaji opened his coffee and stared back at Toji.

"Yeah, I've been falling behind. What of it?"

"Hey, whatever. Just made a stupid assumption."

With a strange tension in the air, the two men stood in silence for a few moments.

As Kaji got halfway through his coffee, he noticed Toji playing with the toy. It was a bright, tacky green color, and had three buttons which Toji would press. With each press, the gadget would make different noises, like animal sounds and different sound effects.

"Hey kid, what's that toy you're messing with?"

"Ahh, this piece of junk?" Toji looked up with an uncomfortable grimace. "It's this bubble wrap thing, like a little fake sheet of it. I got it to take my mind off smoking."

Kaji raised an eyebrow.

"Well, you finally gave up. Now I've seen everything."

"Look who's talking, Mr Stops-Smoking-To-Please-A-Dame."

Kaji laughed. With the tension lessened, the two men were soon speaking like old friends – discussing things that had happened after Kaji stopped visiting, and Kaji talking about the fight with Misato.

"Well, look at that," Toji smirked. "It wasn't work that was eating you alive – it was that dame."

"Yeah, shut up," Kaji grinned as he went to push Toji. The sluggish haze that felt trapped in Kaji's head was beginning to thin out, and his talk with Toji was making him feel better.

He took another swig of his iced coffee, and looked around at the merchandise behind the counter. His eyes soon met the locked cigarette case.

Though he hadn't smoked for a few months, the urge came back to Kaji in waves.

_Y'know what? Misato's not around, and we're probably gonna be history anyway._

He reached for his wallet, but caught himself. A pang of guilt ate at him as he stared at the locked case.

…_Then again, I like having more cash to spend. And I just got the taste out of my mouth a few weeks ago._

Toji must have noticed him hesitating, because Kaji was soon shaken out of his thought cycle with a question.

"Hey, are you alright there?"

"Huh?" Kaji looked over.

"Are you alright standing there, looking at my merchandise like it killed your family?" Toji stared at him with an unimpressed look on his face.

"Yeah, sorry," Kaji mumbled as he grabbed his coffee. "Just felt like a smoke for a second there."

Toji's eyebrows raised a bit.

"You seriously thinkin' about smoking again?"

Kaji glanced over at Toji's face. He was surprisingly hard to read.

…_Y'know what? If he's ashamed of me for this, then screw him. I lived this long without coming back, and I can do it again._

"Yeah, I am." Kaji got out his wallet.

Toji straightened out his back. Standing up from his hunched over position, he clutched the little toy he had…

And he threw it over his shoulder.

"Mind if I bum one?"

* * *

"Y'know, I seriously thought you were gonna deck me or something for a second."

Kaji laughed to himself through a cloud of cigarette smoke. He and Toji were standing in the side alley next to the store, near the service door which Toji kept open with a brick. Toji was leafing through a newspaper he'd snagged on his way out.

"What, you think I liked playing with that little piece of crap?" Toji grumbled as he flicked through a cluster of articles. "Giving up's one of the worst things I ever did."

Kaji took his smoke and ashed it, holding it down near his side for a second.

"I thought you might have cared about your health or something."

"Pfft!" Toji inhaled sharply, and began coughing up plumes of smoke in between moments of laughter. Once he began breathing normally, he replied.

"What gave you that idea?"

Kaji thought about it. Toji had always seemed a bit rash – doing what he liked instead of what would have been best. Seeing Kaji thinking about it, Toji continued.

"Yeah, not exactly my style, is it? Nah, I stopped because it was getting in the way of work."

Kaji looked up at him in surprise.

"What, you started smoking in the store?"

"No, not exactly," Toji replied sheepishly. "I kept taking breaks, and eventually people started noticing… and started stealing stuff while I wasn't there."

Kaji shook his head. "Jeez."

"Yeah, don't start lecturin' me," Toji mumbled irritably.

As Kaji took another inhale of his cigarette, Toji looked up at him.

"So why'd you stop coming here, anyway? I knew you were giving up smoking because of that girlfriend of yours, but you just stopped coming here. What gives?"

Kaji stretched.

"Well, that's a Misato thing too. She thought I couldn't give up because I was always around you, and you guys gave her the creeps."

"Yeah, like her high-and-mighty ass knows what's good for everyone," Toji spat. Kaji smirked as something came back to him.

"Oh yeah, didn't she tell you to quit all the time? I bet she'd love to see you playing with that thing today."

"Shut up, old man!"

Kaji laughed heavily as Toji huffed. Looking down, he saw that his smoke had run out.

"Well, I think it's time for me to go, kid."

"Huh, you're done?" Toji glanced up from his paper.

"Yeah, I'm good. I have stuff to do today anyway, so I should be off."

Toji grunted as he looked back down at his paper.

"Well, don't be a stranger, alright? I wanna see you again soon, not in a couple of months."

Kaji patted him on the shoulder as he walked past.

"Yeah, sure thing."

He was halfway down the alley when Toji called out to him.

"Hey, I got one more question."

Kaji turned around and lent on the store's wall. Taking that as confirmation, Toji spoke.

"Why'd you do everything that woman wanted, like leaving your friends and giving up smoking? You knew she was a headcase, and she treated you like a dog – why'd you stay with her for so long?

Kaji thought about it for a minute. Misato's occasional behaviour was irritating, but he knew why he put up with it. Regardless, Toji's words made sense – it felt like he really had been mistreated a lot during their relationship.

Turning around and flicking his cigarette butt behind him, Kaji called back:

"Because she's special to me. We're both a bit nuts, but it's worth it because I love her."

Leaving Toji in a miserable mood, Kaji walked out of the alley and turned towards home.

* * *

**AN: I feel like I've been writing Misato a bit belligerently. It's slightly intentional, because Kaji is that goose of a person and she's fairly goal-oriented when she's not being a goose herself, and they do clash due to that – but it's a bit too much sometimes. Nonetheless, it helped a bit when it came to writing the second half of this chapter. Happy accident?**

**I'd like to mention that I do not support smoking. I myself don't smoke, I don't mind other people smoking personally but I don't support/suggest taking it up. It's expensive, and tobacco tastes awful. Kaji is a smoker though, and I thought having that part of his character come back would be cool.**

**Next chapter will be more Misato-focused. It won't be any more cheery, unless I think of something funny to put in, but it will shed some light on Misato and Kaji's relationship. Keep an eye out for it.**


	14. Chapter 14

The night before flashed through Misato's mind as she called for a taxi. She remembered most of the night pretty well, including the tail end of her argument with Kaji, but there were several blank spots that she had trouble remembering. Misato pinched her temples as she tried to piece together the information that was missing.

After a fruitless moment of concentration, Misato gave up and leant against a phone pole. The pressure of standing on her aching feet was killing her, and as she rested she slipped out of her heels. As much as she wanted to get away from Kaji, she wouldn't deny that she would have preferred some more rest before leaving.

Due to dehydration and an awkward sleeping position, her neck and head were throbbing in pain. Her mouth tasted like vomit, and was dry enough to feel like she had been drinking glasses full of sand all night. Her throat was coarse from yelling, and her feet were red and swollen - likely from passing out without taking off her heels.

Putting her phone away, Misato waited for her taxi to arrive. It wasn't too long before it showed up, and she was soon concentrating on how to relieve her headache on the way back to her apartment.

Slowly, small snippets of memory started coming back to her. She remembered drinking at the bar, speaking with Rei... then falling asleep on Kaji's shoulder on the way back home. The beginning of their argument began coming back to her, but it left before Misato could grasp it. A few blocks away from her apartment, she let out a tired sigh.

"Hey, could you drop me off just here? I need to get something."

"Sure thing, ma'am."

Climbing out onto the pavement, she gave the driver a few loose bills. As he drove away, Misato sighed.

"I need a drink."

Yawning, Misato stepped into a small convenience store and bought a soda.

Finding a bench on the street, Misato sat down and sipped on her drink. As she relaxed, she took out her phone and began looking through her messages. Seeing that she hadn't sent any drunk texts, a small feeling of relief washed through her.

After putting her phone away, Misato nursed her soda and thought for a bit. The sun was blotted out by the buildings along the street she was on, leaving the area pleasantly cool.

She thought back on the night before she and Kaji went home. The food was good, she remembered as much - and then she remembered finding the dive bar they ended up at. A bit of the haze clearing from her throbbing head, she remembered how many pitchers of beer they ended up drinking.

The memory of beer sent a nasty taste through her mouth. Cringing, Misato took another sip of her drink.

The amount of beer they'd all drank was surprising - moreso because she hadn't pegged Shinji and Rei as big drinkers. They hadn't drank as much as herself or Kaji, but looking back on the night, they had more than she thought they could handle.

"Man, Shinji even carried Kaji outside for a while. That kid's stronger than he looks."

Musing to herself, Misato tried to remember beyond there - only to once again find a fuzzy gap in her memory. She vaguely remembered being warm and happy, before the few memories of their fight kicked in.

_...Oh jeez, did we have sex last night?_

Cringing, Misato crossed her legs uncomfortably.

_...I don't want to think about that right now._

As much as she wanted to put the thought out of her head, it stayed with her the more she tried to get away from it. Praying for a distraction, she jumped as she felt her phone vibrate.

Grabbing it as quickly as she could, Misato looked for what she assumed had been a text message.

She was soon met by a "low battery" notification.

Though she was thankful for the distraction, Misato frowned regardless. The thought of moving with her aching feet wasn't a pleasant prospect.

Slipping out of her heels again, she downed the rest of her drink and stood up. Binning the empty can, she began walking towards her apartment complex - barefoot, with heels in hand.

_Not counting the fight, it was a really good night out. What exactly went wrong...?_

Turning a corner, Misato got an eyeful of sunlight as it bounced off the sidewalk. She recoiled as a sharp pain seemed to crack through her skull, and she covered her eyes as she swayed unsteadily.

Taking a few seconds to stabilize herself, Misato looked down at the brightly lit pavement and blinked slowly. Her eyes soon adjusted, and she began walking again.

_...Maybe I shouldn't be so proud of drinking those pitchers after all._

* * *

The phantom taste of beer stayed in Misato's mouth until she reached her apartment building. As soon as she walked through her front door, she headed for the bathroom to brush her teeth and have a shower.

As she entered the bathroom, she noticed a disheveled pair of Kaji's pants lying in front of the sink.

"...Inconsiderate bastard."

With a bitter frown, she kicked them out of the way.

After showering, Misato went to the kitchen to grab a drink. Opening the door, she came face to face with a shelf full of Yebisu. Looking away as her stomach gurgled painfully, she got a bottle of water from the door.

Rummaging through her handbag, Misato grabbed her phone and took it over to her work-desk to charge. Satisfied as the screen lit up with a "charging" notification, she sat it down and went to make something to eat.

As she prepared a bowl of instant noodles, her mind drifted back to Kaji.

_Man, what was up with him last night? Steals my bathroom, doesn't even use the fan... hell, we barely even spoke to each other at dinner. He spent all that time talking about TV with Shinji!_

Gritting her teeth, Misato tore open a seasoning packet and dumped the contents into the styrofoam bowl. After putting the rest of the sachets in and putting the water on to boil, she leant back against the kitchen counter.

_...Then again, I don't think either of us wanted to talk in the first place. Maybe it was for the best._

It wasn't too long before the water came to a boil, and Misato was soon carrying a steaming bowl of instant noodles out to her living room. Finding a mostly empty spot on her coffee table, she swept some garbage and old paperwork away and sat her noodles down.

Despite keeping a well-maintained workspace at NERV, Misato wasn't a big fan of cleaning - as reflected by her junkyard of an apartment. Beer cans and instant food containers littered her living space, and her coffee table and work-desk were covered in old forms and copied documents.

Taking a seat on her couch, Misato leant forward and let the steam from her noodles float upwards into her face. The warmth from the steam, mixed with the spicy aroma of the seasoning, brought a sense of comfort with it as Misato breathed it in. Matters that were pressing on her mind seemed to float away with the soothing mixture of heat and spice.

With her mind settling, Misato concentrated on her noodles. The previous night seemed to get further away the longer she ate, and the uncomfortable memories were soon far enough away for her to relax. It wasn't long before she reached for the TV remote, choosing to distract herself further with a schlocky low-budget movie from the early 70's.

Shaking off a thin blanket that had been lying next to the couch, Misato threw it over herself and curled up in it. She was on the verge of falling asleep half an hour later as the movie began to reach its climax.

Closing her eyes as the weariness finally took over, a loud synthetic jingle rang out from Misato's phone, shaking her awake.

"Nrgh... phone call..."

Grumbling as she sluggishly kicked off the blanket, she trudged her way over to her work-desk.

Picking up her still-charging phone, Misato saw that the caller was Kaji. The tension that had been buried with comfort food and trashy TV began to come up again, and she hesitated to answer for a moment.

_Is this it...?_

With her stomach tying itself into a knot, Misato unplugged her phone and hit the answer command.

"Hello? Kaji?"

for a second, all Misato heard was the faint crackle of interference. Eventually she could make out the faint sound of someone breathing on the other end.

"Kaji? You there?"

The low rumble of a passing car came through. The breathing on the other end remained consistent, unflinching. A cold, uncomfortable prickle shot across Misato's skin as the unfamiliar speaker said nothing.

"...Kaji?"

Her voice tinged with uncertainty, Misato jumped as she heard a response - a sharp inhale of air, as if the other person had just realized that they were on the phone. A dry, throaty gulp came next, before even the steady breathing disappeared. Frozen in place, Misato waited for a response.

Finally, the voice spoke.

"_...Wrong number._"

As the other number disconnected, an intense bolt of dread coursed through Misato's spine and up her arm. There was no doubt that it had been Kaji on the other end of the call, but he sounded years away.

To her, it felt like she had intercepted a phone call from seven years ago.

* * *

It was the late afternoon when Misato called Kaji back. After receiving the earlier call, she had sat down on her couch, curled up in her blanket and thought hard about the night before. She had gotten up for a beer sometime during the process, but it sat across from her half-finished.

Eventually, she had pieced together the full gist of their argument - a few memories were still lost, but she had managed to retrieve the start of the argument as well as the more scathing comments herself and Kaji had thrown at each other. Resigning herself to the task at hand, Misato dialed Kaji's number and waited for him to pick up.

Kaji's phone rang on for a while, with Misato gripping her phone tighter with every ring. But eventually, he answered.

"_...Hey._"

"Hey."

An uncomfortable silence fell as both parties struggled to find something to say. Kaji eventually choked out the first word.

"_You feelin' alright?_"

"Y-yeah," Misato stammered out. "It took a while to recover, but I'm okay."

"_That's good to hear. You were pretty sick last night._" A tense sigh escaped from Kaji's mouth.

Misato's hand gripped the phone like a vice.

"I know. I drank way too much and acted like a nuisance. I'm sorry."

The stilted words forced their way out of Misato's mouth, her jaw rigid with shame. Wincing at her tone of voice, Kaji paused for a moment.

"_...I am angry about that, but how long have we known each other? These things happen, we both know that._"

Trying to defuse the situation with a casual comment, Kaji found his voice hardening at the end. Regardless, it elicted a soft, dry laugh from Misato.

"Yeah, I guess so."

Both Kaji and Misato fell silent again, the tension between them as tight as before. Stewing in shame as her stomach continued to tense up, Misato inhaled deeply and pushed ahead with the reason for her call.

"...I remember the argument, Kaji."

Her mouth twisted into a painful grimace, Misato braced herself.

"_...Yeah. So do I._"

Judging from his voice, Kaji sounded about as prepared for the topic as Misato. A tiny ounce of tension left Misato's grip with that realization.

"...What are we going to do about it?"

Kaji sighed heavily on the other end.

"_...We should talk about it._"

With Misato murmuring her agreement, a third tense silence fell between them. The constant clenching of Misato's jaw made her teeth begin to hurt.

With the constant stalling, aching and hesitation, Misato began to develop a headache. As her clenched jaw began to send waves of dull pain through her skull, the knot in her stomach began to pull itself loose - and as the silence dragged on, Misato's patience grew thinner.

After a long silence, Misato heard Kaji inhale like he was going to say something. Seconds passed, with each one stretching for what felt like days.

Deciding not to voice whatever thought had come to him, Kaji shallowly exhaled. A jolt of surprise shook the last of Misato's tension loose as she heard Kaji's strained breath over the phone.

Irritation soon began to outweigh tension in her mind, and she struggled to remain composed. With no other signs of activity coming from Kaji, a surge of blood rushed to her head - and for a moment, Misato saw red.

"...God DAMMIT, I can't STAND this!"

Kaji cried out in pain as Misato yelled into the phone.

"_Jeez, Misato, what are you trying to-_"

"We can't communicate like this!" Misato yelled. "We've never been good at talking like this, you know that as well as I do!"

Kaji's patience soon ran out as well, his unsteady calmness giving way to a fiery, uneven rage.

"_Well, what do we do then, Misato?!_ _How else are we going to sort this out if we can't talk to each other?_"

"Y'know what, Kaji?" Misato lowered her voice's volume, speaking directly into the mouthpiece through gritted teeth. "Why don't we do this face to face like adults for once? Actually speak to each other?"

"_..._"

Kaji fell silent, bristling with rage. Steeling her voice with resolve, Misato repeated herself.

"Let's meet up. Or can't you handle the pressure of breaking up with me in person?"

Struggling to find a rebuttal, Kaji eventually replied in defeat. The frustration in his voice was barely disguised.

"_Alright then. LCL, one hour?_"

"Sounds good. See you there, then."

With that, both Kaji and Misato hung up.

The wave of adrenaline that had hit Misato stayed with her as she put her phone back on charge and went to the bathroom. It was only after she went to sit back down that she began to falter - her legs giving out as shock took over.

Crashing down onto the couch, Misato clawed for the can of beer sitting on the table in front of her. after gulping it down, she curled up tightly in the blanket she had been using as all the anger she had directed at Kaji turned into anxiety.

_We're... talking this out over dinner?_

Burying her head deeper into the blanket as the situation began to sink in, a warm wave of catharsis washed through Misato's whole body.

_We have a chance to settle this. Properly._

Basking in the feeling for a moment, Misato eventually stretched out and gingerly threw the blanket off. The anger that had filled her minutes before was gone, replaced by an unfamiliar serenity.

_We're probably coming to an end again. But we're doing it the right way this time._

Making her way over to the sink, Misato looked up into the mirror and into her own eyes. The tired static that had been broadcasting throughout her head all day had silenced, and both her mind and eyes were clear as day.

For the first time that day, Misato genuinely smiled.

Turning towards the shower, her foot made contact with a disheveled article of clothing. Flailing as her feet were swept out from under her, Misato hit the tiled floor of her bathroom hard.

Smacking her head against the floor, Misato fell silent.

Twenty seconds of silence passed.

_Did that... did I just...?_

Misato's foot twitched as she processed what had just happened. Lifting her throbbing head to survey her surroundings, she spied the article of clothing that had resulted in her fall.

Kaji's pants.

A rush of dull pain radiated through her skull. Staring at the article of clothing, Misato opened and closed her mouth, unable to find the words she was looking for.

As the pain migrated to the point behind her forehead, however, the words found their way spilling out of her mouth.

"...That thoughtless, inconsiderate, lazy, selfish **BASTARD!**"

* * *

**AN: If you're reading this, then A Shared Existence is one year old! I've never stayed on an ongoing writing project for a year before - even with some shortcomings, it's been a good year and I'm proud of what I've done. Maybe I'll make it into next year, too - here's hoping!**

**A big thanks to The Broken Shogun, who looked over this chapter before it was published. Being without spellcheck at the moment, having another person look over my work was a great relief. Thank you!**

**More chatter over on the devblog - the link to which is on my profile, as always. What's in store for next chapter? It's a mystery - for all you know, it'll be a detailed description of Shinji eating cereal in his underpants. See you then!**


	15. Chapter 15

Looking around aimlessly, Kaji slumped down into his chair. It was half an hour after he and Misato had agreed to meet, and she was nowhere to be seen.

"...Wouldn't be the first time, I guess."

With a dry, self-deprecating smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth, Kaji poured another glass of lemonade from the pitcher he had ordered. As much as he would have liked to complain, he knew he could be just as bad.

As he sipped on his drink, someone caught his eye. Misato had finally arrived - but something about her was off. She seemed unbalanced and a bit dazed, and there was a small bandage on the top left of her forehead. She was also carrying a familiar bag, which Kaji soon recognized as the overnight bag he'd left at her apartment the night before.

Sitting down across from him, she looked into Kaji's eyes with a dull anger.

"I know I'm late," she began with a subdued, spacy voice, "but you can blame yourself for that."

Reaching down, she slid Kaji's overnight bag over to him. He looked down at it, and back to Misato. She pointed back towards the bag.

"Open it."

Eyeing her uncomfortably, Kaji leant down and opened the bag. On top of everything else was the pair of pants he'd changed out of at Misato's house, slightly damp in places.

"See that?" Misato quietly sniped, in the angriest tone of voice she could muster. Confused, Kaji nodded.

"You left those on my bathroom floor. I slipped on them and hit my head, you jackass."

The words took a few moments to register properly, but looking down at the bag and back to Misato, everything clicked into place. With her behavior and explanation, it wouldn't be much of a stretch to assume that she had a nasty concussion.

"...I'm sorry, we were in a rush and all and I-"

Misato cut him off.

"Save the excuses, it doesn't matter. My head feels fuzzy, I think it's your fault, but this is still a higher priority than going to the hospital. Save all that for later."

Kaji smirked.

"You know, this wouldn't be the first time that my absence of pants has made you light-headed. It's been... what, three weeks?"

As much as she struggled against it, Misato's dull half-glare soon broke into a slight grin.

"Jam it, jackass."

Hearing her lighten up, a wave of tension let itself loose from Kaji's shoulders.

"Will do. Sorry."

With both parties present, Kaji called for a waiter. They both ordered, and were soon exchanging small talk as they waited for their food.

"...You look good tonight. For someone with a concussion, and who must have had a killer hangover this morning, you really cleaned up nicely."

Misato stuck her tongue out at Kaji.

"Thanks, but I can't say the same for you. You look as crappy as ever."

Kaji recoiled in mock offense, caressing his chin. "Hey, I'll have you know I spent a whole half-hour trimming my stubble for you!"

"Your entire lower face looks like someone glued cat fur to it." Misato responded, unfazed.

Despite the initial undercurrent of hostility, the mood between the pair was comfortable. The insults they traded weren't loaded in the least, and with each playful jab they took at each other, the more comfortable they felt.

Soon, without either of them realizing, the back-and-forth between them was replaced by fond words and gestures.

"Lemonade?" Kaji asked in his sleaziest tone of voice as he offered Misato the pitcher. She offered her glass daintily as a sign of confirmation, and he obliged.

"Sure as hell beats alcohol," Misato mumbled to herself as she took a sip.

Their food soon arrived, and they focused on their meals. the banter slowed, but even as the thought of leaving each other gnawed away at the back of their minds, the atmosphere of the restaurant and the comfortable mood kept both Misato and Kaji in good spirits.

* * *

It was a few minutes later, as they both slowed their eating, that Misato looked across at Kaji with a serious look in her eye.

"...You know we have to talk about this."

Kaji let out a long sigh.

"I know. I just... we're not great together, but I still like what we have, you know?"

Misato nodded.

"This is hard for me too. We just... have to talk this out, you know?"

Her words rang hollow, and Kaji looked down at his half-finished meal as if to dodge the question. Misato spoke again, a little louder than before.

"...Maybe we'll find a way?"

Kaji picked at his food, avoiding eye contact. Sighing, Misato reached over and gently grabbed his wrist.

"...This is just something that has to happen right now, Kaji. I don't like it any more than you do."

Flinching at the contact, Kaji looked up at Misato's face. She looked tired and defeated - it was clear from the look on her face and from the pit that was burrowing into his stomach that they weren't leaving the restaraunt in one piece.

_Well... I guess I'm not the only one hurting at least._

Burying the building sense of dread as best as he could, Kaji stammered out a response.

"Y-yeah."

For a few moments, neither of them said anything. Words and ice-breakers came to both of them, but they were choked out of them by an increasingly tense atmosphere. Seeing each other face to face rather than over the phone made the situation much more uncomfortable.

Misato kicked herself.

_Why the hell did I suggest this? Of course it'd be harder in person!_

As Misato yelled at herself internally, Kaji quietly spoke.

"...We're friends, right?"

The question shook Misato back into reality, and she looked into Kaji's eyes. The usual spark of life that shone through them was dim, replaced by an uncharacteristic sadness.

Turning away, Misato answered.

"...Yeah. We're definitely friends."

"Well, at least we've got that." Though the tension in his stomach didn't alleviate at all, Kaji let out a deep sigh.

"Yeah."

It was Misato's turn to avoid eye contact. As Kaji relaxed, a crippling anxiety crept through her own mind. The hand that she'd left on Kaji's wrist tightened, and her fingers dug into his skin.

"...Hey. D'you mind?"

Noticing her behavior, she shot her hand back.

"Sorry. I'm just... y'know. This was a bad idea."

As she trailed off, Kaji could see her other hand balled up into a fist. It looked like she was using all of her willpower to keep her composure.

The setting was making him feel increasingly uneasy too. The walls of the restaurant felt like they were going to move at any second, and his head spun as the room seemed to heat up.

Undoing the top button of his shirt, he called for the waiter. Misato jolted in surprise.

"Wh- Kaji! What are you-"

Kaji met her stare with a glare that meant business.

"This was a bad idea, Misato. I feel sick just sitting here," he spat in a hushed tone. "So instead of sitting here and trying to end this relationship like a pair of caricatured adults like you thought we could do, I'm giving us an out to do this our way."

Misato was taken aback, and a mixture of both relief and tension washed over her body. As the waiter came over to provide the check, both of her hands were trembling in her lap as she gritted her teeth.

Looking up as Kaji said something unintelligible to her, she noticed the check sitting on the table. And as hard as she tried, she couldn't stop her composure from breaking.

Forcefully bringing her bag up onto the table, she reached in for her purse and threw it on the table. Then, with a barely concealed sob, she turned and left.

* * *

After paying for the meal, Kaji grabbed her things and went after her. It wasn't long until he found Misato crouching by a tree near a park, her dress ripped from her running.

Hearing his approaching footsteps, she looked up at him. Her eyeliner was running as residual tears ran down her face, and her breathing was labored.

"I... really made a scene back there, didn't I?"

"Nah, we've looked worse in public." Crouching down in front of her, Kaji offered Misato a napkin to wipe her face.

Laughing as she wiped off what remained of her makeup, Misato settled down.

"Kaji... do you remember the first time we broke up?"

Taking a seat by the same tree as her, Kaji replied in a breathy voice.

"Yeah, now that was a mess. We got banned from our favorite bar."

"We did," Misato chuckled. "It was a bad time for both of us."

Catching his breath from chasing down Misato, Kaji looked over at her and replied in a serious voice.

"I never did apologize for that. I-"

"I took you back without hearing you out," Misato interrupted. "The situation behind the breakup was too painful, and I missed you. I couldn't let you off the hook for what you did, but I wanted you back. And that was stupid."

"Yeah." Kaji sounded like he was a lifetime away. "I never got to apologize, and it's been eating away at me. I think that's why we're so bad at managing this relationship thing - we never talked about what happened."

Seven years of anxiety and anger flashed through Misato's mind, a package of emotions that she'd been repressing for the sake of having a stable relationship - or so she had told herself. The wall she'd built up began to dissolve, and she began to see clearly as the baggage made itself clear for the first time in years.

"...I never forgave you for what you did, Kaji. You cheated on me with my best friend."

Kaji sighed in resignation.

"I... I've wanted to apologize since we got back together. I tried to, but you'd always stop me. Eventually I just... thought we'd be happy. I thought we could put it behind us."

"Yeah." Misato looked up at the stars that were beginning to show in the sky. "I never let you apologize because I just wanted to forget. Look what that led to."

Shuffling his thin coat to find something, Kaji reached inside and pulled out a rectangular box. Reaching out, he offered the open end to Misato.

"Smoke?"

Misato looked at the box in surprise.

"Wh- wait, did you take up smoking again? Where'd you get these?"

Kaji laughed heartily.

"You'll never guess who I ran into today. Took a walk to clear my head, and I ended up going somewhere familiar."

"You did not!" Misato slapped Kaji's arm lightly. "You ran into that bum Toji?!"

He laughed harder.

"I just bought these today, don't have a heart attack." Closing the box, he withdrew his arm.

Misato spoke up from where she sat.

"...I'm really controlling about you smoking, aren't I?"

Placing a cigarette in his mouth, Kaji replied as he grabbed a lighter.

"You pushed really hard for me to quit, but I was okay with it. I loved you back then, and I saw where you were coming from."

A few seconds passed as Kaji exhaled. The chilly evening air was creeping up Misato's ripped skirt, and she shivered.

"I... wasn't worried about your health, you know."

"Hmm?"

Misato shuffled closer to Kaji, until she was cuddling up to him. She kept her face away from his sight.

"...The taste of cigarettes in your mouth reminded me of who you used to be. And I couldn't stand it."

Looking down at her, Kaji couldn't help but notice how different Misato looked. The usually headstrong woman that he had fallen in love with felt like a completely different person, shivering at his side.

"You really wanted to bury the past, didn't you?

Misato nodded.

"I wanted my cake, and I wanted to eat it too. I tried to have you without having to think about what you'd done, and that was selfish of me."

"Hey, don't beat yourself up." Caressing her face with a warm hand, Kaji brought her stare to meet his own. "I shouldn't have gotten back together with you without talking about the past. We're partners in crime, you know."

Feeling the warmth spread through her cold cheek, Misato smiled.

"...Yeah. We are."

Throwing his arm around her, covering her shoulder with his coat in the process, Kaji sat with Misato in a comfortable silence.

"...Hey, Kaji."

He looked down as his smoke burnt out. "Yeah?"

"You said that you 'loved' me earlier." Misato looked at him with sad eyes. "Does that mean you don't love me any more?"

Gently holding her chin between his thumb and forefinger, Kaji leant in and whispered into Misato's ear.

"Misato Katsuragi, I have always loved you. Even as our relationship has stagnated, I have never stopped loving you from the moment I first met you."

Pulling back, he stopped at Misato's mouth and gave her a long, sensual kiss.

"And that's the truth. I promise."

Looking into Kaji's eyes, Misato couldn't help tearing up again - but instead of sadness or frustration, they were tears of happiness.

Eventually, the sun set. And as the last rays of sunlight sank below the tops of the buildings, Misato tore herself out of Kaji's grasp. Before he could ask what was going on, Misato shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Jeez Misato, what are y-"

"I feel so good for once, damn!" Misato yelled out to an empty park. "I've been so bitchy and irregular, and now I actually feel something for once! Took long enough if you ask me!"

Standing over a bewildered Kaji, she bent over and gave him an ample view of her cleavage. His bewildered look spoke volumes.

"You're not off the hook, Ryoji Kaji - we're going to talk about this! For real!"

"Y-yes, Misato!" Unable to find a suitable rebuttal, Kaji blabbered whatever came to his mind first.

Misato smirked confidently. "Good! Now we're going to my place, getting some crappy paperwork done, and if you're lucky you might get some fanservice~"

With a single baffled "Buh?" from Kaji, Misato dragged him out of his sitting position and led him towards a nearby taxi rank. Both her and Kaji knew that their relationship wouldn't mend that easily - as carefree as they both were, they knew that a night of rushed paperwork and wild sex couldn't heal seven years of ignored tension and hostility.

But as far as Misato cared, it was a damn good start.

* * *

**AN: What. A. Wait. There's so much to talk about, but I want to keep this AN as short as possible. First of all - I neglected this story for nearly a year, directly after celebrating the one-year anniversary. I am so sorry - I got sidetracked, and to be completely honest I stopped caring. I'm interested in at least another chapter before disappearing again, you can count on it.**

**Second - I made a joke back in chapter 12 about chapter 13 coming out after the Rebuild 3.33 dub came out. This chapter is out two months after the release of the Rebuild dub. I thought that was pretty funny as I read through the story again, to prepare for this chapter.**

**Half of this has been sitting as-is from August 2015. I only just wrote the rest tonight. I'm probably going to regret posting this, but I need to post this now - I'm feeling pretty guilty over the hiatus and I need to get this out. I'll make another post on the devblog - the link to my personal A Shared Existence blog is on my profile, please visit if you're interested in more of my rambling.**

**I said I'd keep this AN short, and now look at it. Thank you so much for reading, and I'm so sorry for leaving the story in limbo for so long.**


	16. Chapter 16

After the fallout had settled from their night out, Shinji and Rei as well as Misato and Kaji had returned to their regular pace at work. Gendo had returned from the conference he attended with Fuyutsuki, and after a few days without mentioning his office to her, Misato had figured that she was in the clear for the mess she'd made.

Gendo did know about the mess, however - the cleaning crew had told him about it the second he got back. Considering the state of everyone's work and how clean the office was upon his return, however, he had decided not to push the issue - aside from sending Misato a quick warning, threatening an official strike against her name if it were to happen again.

Aside from that, everything was back to normal. For the first few days, everyone was on-schedule - even Asuka had managed to pick up the slack it seemed, and both her and Rei's department was moving along smoothly with the addition of Maya Ibuki. Rei had noticed Asuka's improved work ethic, and to her it seemed like she was trying to set an example of sorts - to somehow put Maya "in her place", like a territorial display of superiority. Without the usual interruptions, however, she never had a chance to vocalize her theory.

Shinji was doing well too, although he felt like something was off about Misato and Kaji. They hadn't been speaking to him ouside of lunch, which was a relief in ways, but their relative silence was bothering him. Considering what Kaji had said about the state of their relationship and the advice Shinji had given him, it was a bit worrying to see them keep to themselves.

It was a few days after returning to work that Misato and Kaji decided to break the news.

* * *

"You... broke up?"

Shinji was the first to hear the news, having reached their lunch area first. Misato had a fairly modest pile of vending machine food, and Kaji had a bottle of sparkling water in place of his usual canned coffee.

"I wouldn't say broken up, just..." Kaji trailed off, trying to find a better term.

"...Seperated for a while, just to clear our heads."

Kaji nodded at Misato's addition.

"We decided that we still care about each other, but we've got a lot of baggage to sort out. And we're still close, we're taking the whole process pretty slow."

Shinji furrowed his brow. The news had him shaken, but they sounded pretty neutral about the whole thing - considering the drama that had come out of their first breakup, he couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy.

Finally, he spoke up.

"...So nothing new happened to bring this on?"

"No, we've been pretty good this time around," Misato said as she unwrapped something to eat. "We just didn't clear the air properly from the first time."

"Hmm."

Not really knowing how to take the news, Shinji began on his own lunch. It wasn't long until Rei and Asuka arrived, and the news was repeated to them.

"...I'm glad that this has been a mutual decision for you both, and I wish for your well-being during this process." Rei had thought for a moment, before saying a single sentence and unwrapping her lunch.

Asuka, in comparison, was livid.

"What?! You don't have anything else to say?!"

Rei looked at her co-worker calmly.

"I saw them just last weekend going through a rough patch. To my understanding, they want to remain as friends or even partners, but take enough time to-"

"Yeah, yeah, I get all that!" Asuka interrupted, slamming her food down onto the table. "But you know how bad they were the first time, how it managed to affect all of us! This should be a bigger deal! Hell, how does Shinji feel about this?"

"I told you," Shinji replied nonchalantly, "I'm happy that they're working this out. It's a bit sad and confusing, but I think they're doing the right thing for their relationship."

Grumbling, Asuka sat back down. The group spent an awkward few minutes eating in total silence, with the occasional clack of utensils or sip of water sounding out.

Eventually, near the end of their lunch period, Asuka spoke up again in a more neutral tone of voice - still a bit angry, but noticably calmer.

"Just tell me one thing. If something does hit a nerve, or if you don't get back together - can you promise not to create a big deal out of it?"

Both Kaji and Misato looked up from their meals with a confused look on their face. Asuka scrowled.

"Look, if you guys screw up, is it going to make our lives harder? Will we have to choose sides, will it spill over into our work lives?"

Misato shook her head.

"No, we're handling this pretty calmly. We're handling our personal issues in our own spare time. And even if we do break up, we'll organize something that doesn't rock the boat too much."

"Yeah, this is nothing like last time," Kaji added. "Our break-up affected you guys because it involved the school. This is just between us."

"...Hmph." With a satisfied grunt, Asuka stood up to go back to work. Everyone else stayed to clean the area, and to say a quick goodbye before the lunch bell rang.

"I know I didn't say much, but..."

While speaking to Misato, Rei trailed off. With a smirk, Misato threw an arm over her shoulder, to Rei's surprise.

"It's okay, say what you need to. We know this is weird, but if we weren't looking for input, we would have said so!"

Unwrapping herself from Misato's arm, Rei looked away.

"...I hope you can both work this out. I want you both to be happy however you decide to resolve your issues, but... I especially hope you'll find happiness together."

Looking at her, both Kaji and Misato froze in their tracks. The half-hearted grin that Kaji had been wearing all lunch soon softened into a genuine smile, and he put his hand on Rei's shoulder.

"...We'll try our best."

And with the lunch bell ringing, the group parted.

Walking back to their department, Misato nudged Shinji.

"I didn't think Rei would be so cut up about this, y'know."

Shinji smiled softly.

"She took your words to heart last weekend, Misato. She told me what you said, and she really appreciated it."

"Y-yeah, I was pretty drunk." Misato shook her head in embarrassment.

"You were sincere, though." Kaji snaked up to Misato and put an arm around her shoulder. "I've never known you to be an insincere drunk."

"Keep your damn hands to yourself!"

As Misato flipped out at Kaji, Shinji laughed. He knew as well as Kaji that he was telling the truth.

_I'm sure she wants the best for you, just like you said that you wanted the best for us._

* * *

**AN: This marks the end of the beginning, I guess. If I hadn't been so boneheaded and posted chapter 15 the same night I finished it, I probably would have written this as the epilogue. Now it's a short interlude chapter.**

**Next chapter is something different. Maybe a little angsty. Maybe a flashback, even? Maybe both, or maybe neither. Please leave a review if you have the chance, let me know what you think and how you'd like the story to go or something. I'd appreciate any input you have.**


End file.
